Alice and the Keeper of Hearts
by ReginaRheims7711
Summary: Alice once again fell down the hole (alright PUSHED) and is stuck in her own dream (nightmare) only this time the Queen of Hearts isn't saying OFF WITH HER HEAD. Alice is stuck between choosing Sebastian the sexy but evil son of the Queen of Hearts or the cursed but kind Aaron (the White Queen's son). Though after being poisoned by Sebastian, Alice is going to need help. HATTER!
1. Prologue & Summon Alice!

_Prologue _

_In Wonderland, there is a curse that was set upon the son of the White Queen by the Queen of Hearts herself to make her own son see to it that he wins the heart of the most beautiful fair maiden of Wonderland. You see… when the White Queen's son falls in love with a girl the curse casts a spell on the girl and she leaves him for the Queen of Heart's son. This curse was set out after a bitter battle between the sisters and not once did the Queen of Hearts feel guilty for her curse. Like all curses, something is able to break them but not everything in Wonderland is simply… which is where Alice is needed once again…_

_Chapter I_

_Part I: Curse  
_

_Summon Alice!_

"My Queen… Your son has arrived." A guard bowed as he stood in front of the Queen of Heart's throne. She looked down at him and waved her hand as her son walked into the palace room and quickly stood beside his mother. His hair was messy with the color of ravens, his eyes a blood red, skin pale like his mothers, he was tall unlike his mother AND father (though his father passed away many years ago).

"My son! Dear Sebastian why are you getting so skinny?!" The Queen of Hearts cried when she looked at her son from head to toe.

"That's what the girls are looking for. Skinny boys, mother." Sebastian said holding his mother's hands.

"Well make those girls LOVE you. I'm sure you'll find someone. Here-" She tossed him a thick leather brown book. "Look and see if any of those girls are set up to your standards." Sebastian sat on the steps near his mother looking through the photos of everyone that lived in Wonderland. The doors swung open and the Queen's boyfriend, Mason walked inside, his uniform glittering in the sunlight through the windows as he walked up towards his beau and kissed her hand.

"And how are we today, lovely?" Mason cooed.

"Better now that you're here." The Queen blushed.

"What is your son doing?"

"Choosing his bride!"

"Hasn't he looked through that book a million times enough to know that none of those girls in there are his type? Shouldn't we just start searching in the other kingdoms?"

"NO! My son will choose to marry as he so pleases and if she can't love him back then off with her head!"

"I'm sorry, my Queen." Mason bowed.

"Mother… why haven't I ever seen her before?" Sebastian questioned when he showed his mother the photograph of a girl. His mother studied the girl's photo before sighing.

"That's Alice, dear. She doesn't live here. I haven't seen her since that time she painted my flowers red. Sorry sweetie but that's the one girl you can't marry!"

"But mother you told me I could marry anybody I want!"

"Well that's true but she doesn't live here!"  
"THEN GO FIND HER!"

His mother jumped a little in her seat when her own son yelled at her. Though he may only be seventeen years old, he was a hard man to get past once you got on his bad side. He was in fact a sorcerer after all.

"Yes…" She whistled to her guards and quickly they appeared.

"Go bring Alice back. NOW!" The Queen screamed.

"But… We don't know where she is…" A guard squeaked.

"THEN GO FIND HER!"

"I can help you!" A girl from the other side of the room shouted.

"Who is she?" The Queen asked Mason.

"Uh… Mary Beth I believe. She just joined the military after we took over her village."

"Mary Hath-"

"Beth, my Queen." Mary Beth corrected her before bowing.

"Yes… Beth… How can you find Alice?"  
"Simple! Last time she was here she fell through the hole that connects us to her world. All we need is someone to go up there and get her down here." Mary Beth explained looking at her glossy red nails.

"A hole?"

"Yeah a rabbit hole."

"A rabbit hole… hmm."

"My Queen?" Mason asked.

"MASON! Fetch me that white rabbit that brought her down here the last time…"

"WHITE RABBIT!" The Queen shouted when the White Rabbit was tossed in front of the Queen's throne.

"Y-Yes?" The White Rabbit squeaked. He looked over at Sebastian who was smirking, his red eyes glittering with evil. The White Rabbit hated the royal's red glittering eyes.

"Remember that girl, Alice, who had that horrible blue dress and talked nonsense?" The Queen asked.

"Ye-YES!"

"Bring her back here… She is the only maiden that can fill my heart with love." Sebastian said holding his fist over his heart. The White Rabbit looked at him and rolled his eyes before standing up.

"Can't do madam' or sir. She needs to dream about this place before I have any chance of getting there."

"WELL THEN MAKE HER DREAM OF THIS PLACE!"

"But- But how my lady?"

"I can do it! I can even send you there without her dreaming of this place." Sebastian snorted.

"My son you are truly amazing!"

"Well I am a sorcerer after all." He said adjusting his crown on his head.

"Then hop to it! I want her here by tomorrow!" The Queen shouted happily before getting off of her throne and following Mason to another room in her castle.

"Well Rabbit let's go."  
"Are you coming with?"

"Hell no. I'm not getting myself dirty just for some girl. Besides I gave you the orders to go get her." Sebastian snarled before grabbing the Rabbit's paw and pulling him out of the throne room. Outside of the windows stood the Hatter with a small mouse on his shoulder.

"Sebastian is trying to get Alice to come back here!" The mouse squeaked.

"Alice? Why would he want her here?" Hatter asked the mouse.

"Because! He wants to marry her!"

"MARRY HER!"

"Should we follow them?"

"Indeed! Even better… We're going to visit Alice herself…." The Hatter said before grinning at the little mouse and throwing his hat on.


	2. Lord Charles, Alice!

Chapter 2

_Lord Charles, Alice_

"I think the dress matches your eyes, Alice." Her mother said as her daughter twirled in her gown in front of a mirror.

"Really? I think it looks… too light for me." Alice said putting her hands on her hips and staring at herself in the mirror.

"But it makes your eyes so much brighter!" Her mother said happily.

"My lady your carriage has arrived." The butler said before bowing and handing Alice's mother her coat.

"I'll be waiting for you in the carriage. Don't forget your gloves!" Her mother said before following the butler out of Alice's room. Alice flopped on her bed and started at the ceiling as a tiny spider made its way across to a wall.

"Why can things walk on the ceiling when I can't?" Alice huffed.

"Miss. Alice you should hurry and get downstairs. You know how your mother is when she's late." Her chambermaid said.

"Oh… right." Alice said before throwing on her boots and hiding them under her gown. Grabbing her gloves and locket she made her way downstairs and found her mother holding her umbrella outside the front doors.

"Alice please hurry!"

"Coming mother!" Alice said and quickly took a few pieces of pound cake from the table and tucking it away in a napkin.

"Alice…"

"Shh. I didn't eat lunch and it's an hour long ride to that Lord whatever's house." Alice snapped at the maid.

"Then take this too." She said giving Alice a basket filled with fruit. Alice beamed at her and hugged her before heading out into the carriage.

"What's in that basket?" Her mother asked.

"Fruit…." Alice said quietly. The carriage pulled away from their house as Alice gave her mother some peaches.

"Now remember Lord Charles is looking forward greatly to meeting you."

"Big deal." Alice said with her mouth full of pound cake.

"Alice don't talk with food in your mouth and you're not supposed to have sweets before eating a full course! Eat some fruit."

"Mother I didn't have lunch. Leave me alone."

"No I won't leave you alone. Now tell me what you're planning on saying to Charles."

"Why are you so excited to see me? I'm just a teenage girl with an imagination that won't be tied down with a crummy marriage when I could be out exploring the world."

"ALICE!"

"It's the truth mother!"

"You won't dare say that to him! He happens to own a few boats that trade with China and would love to take you over there whenever you wished."

"Still… I don't want to get married."

"Why not! You're seventeen years old! Girls your age are already having kids and you're not even engaged yet."

"Good."

"Alice…"

They were quiet for the rest of the ride until the carriage appeared in front of Lord Charles' house.

"Now remember… Don't tell him about your dreams, Alice." Her mother said before someone opened the door and her mother threw on her hat and walked out saying hello to Charles' parents. Alice rolled her eyes and took her basket of fruit with her as she climbed out and greeted the parents.

"Ah, Alice! You're more beautiful than the portrait that your mother sent of you!" A man said welcoming her. He had white hair and was that gray on the side?

_Am I marrying an old man? _

"Please to meet you, Charles. Here take this fruit basket." Alice said and handed him the basket before making her way into the house. His house was huge with large golden walls and white floors.

_Alright I need to do is mess with him and he'll hate me forever and refuse to marry me._

Alice picked up her gown and walked up the few steps into the tea room where another young man with fiery orange hair was sitting on the couch, drinking tea and snacking on cookies.

"Umm… hi." Alice said.

"Hello m'dear." The man said shaking her hand as she sat next to him.

"I'm Alice."

"Of course you are."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm um… James Cattermore." The man said smiling. Alice poured herself some tea and quickly took a sip. It was English tea no doubt.

"So how do you know Charles."

"I'm his… horse master."

"I bet you never ridden a horse in your life."

"Of course I have!"

"You know… You remind me of someone… He was in my dreams a few times."

"Oh really? I never met you in my life though m'lady."

"Well his name was Hatter. He said when it isn't your birthday you celebrate a merry un-birthday."

"How wonderful, Alice." James said taking a sip of his tea.

"Alice this is my horse master, James." Charles said taking a seat across from her.

"So I hear."

"Well now that you're here we can discuss getting a horse for you, Alice." James said. Alice coughed up some tea and gave him a dirty look.

"That's a good idea, James! How about it, Alice?"

"I hate riding horses."

"Well then what do you do?"

"Read, write, dream."

"Dream?"

"About Wonderland of course." Alice said. James stiffened as he heard "Wonderland".

"Tell me about this place." Charles said looking very interested in what she was saying."

"Well… it's a place where everything is possible and a Queen that always shouts: "Off with his head!" rules and two twin boys follow me around and some rabbit is always late to meet the Queen."

"How do you get there?" James asked.

"Through the rabbit hole. The white rabbit wearing a red uniform leads me there and I fall into the hole."

"Have you dreamed about this place lately?"

"Oh I did before I arrived here! I met this awfully nice boy who was a sorcerer and he gave me flowers and we danced around all over the ballroom." Alice said dreamily. James smashed his cookies in his fist and broke his tea cup.

"Oh god I'm so sorry Charles." James said using his napkin to clean up the tea on his pants.

"Oh no problem, James. I'll go get you another tea cup." Charles said before leaving the room.

"Alice what did this boy look like?" James asked her. She looked down at her teacup and beamed.

"Black hair… but the back bottom of his head, his hair was white… His eyes were a beautiful red and he wore amazing robes." James made a disgusted face before grabbing another cookie and taking a bite.

"Anyone else in this dream you had?"

"Well I didn't see many people who normally are in my dreams. The Red Queen was in it to since the boy was her son but other than that I can't really explain the other people I saw…"

"Sorry I took so long. The cook was yelling at me for the broken tea cup but here, James."

"I think we should take a stroll outside since it's so nice. Don't you think, Alice?" James asked her.

"That's a great idea! I'll go put on my shoes and I'll show you two the new garden while it's still in bloom." Charles said before leaving the room once again.

"Look this may seem strange but that boy in your story… did he happen to seem evil at all?" James asked.

"Oh heaven no! He was such a sweetheart to me."

"He isn't!" James hissed before covering his mouth with his hand. Alice let out a little giggle and patted him on the back.

"What have you ever met this Prince in red?"

"No I'm just assuming that he's evil."

"Alright are we ready to go?" Charles asked entering the room wearing white shoes and a white hat.

"I guess…" James said and got up, helping Alice off the couch.

"Where is your hat?" Alice asked.

"Right here." James said showing her his top hat. It was a greenish color with a large light red ribbon around the middle of it and down the back end of the hat towards James' neck. On the side was a piece of paper with the number _10/6. _

"That's an odd hat you have." Alice pointed out. "It looks like the hat the Mad Hatter wears as well."

"Who?" James asked turning red.

"Mad Hatter of course! He's my favorite character in my dream. He taught me the merry merry un-birthday song." Alice said.

"Merry merry un-birthday?" Charles asked as they made their way out the backdoor to the large garden where tomato plants stood at the entrance.

"Well if it isn't your birthday then happy merry un-birthday!" Alice said happily.

_Wow these two aren't that bad if all they want to hear is my dreams._

She looked out of the corner of her eyes and saw a white rabbit wearing… a red suit? She moved towards him slowly and away from the two men.

"Alice where are you going?" Charles asked watching Alice. The rabbit quickly bounced away into the bushes and Alice huffed.

"Oh I thought I just saw something." Alice said sadly and walked over towards Charles. She noticed on the back of his head that he had a black hair and not white.

"Charles… why do you have black hair when most of your hair is white?" Alice asked him.

"Well… It's a trait my dad gave me."

"Your hair looks pure white like snow and I just noticed there isn't a touch of gray anywhere… how old are you?"

"Nineteen."

"Are you really?!" Alice shouted. Charles slowly nodded his head hoping she won't jump on him.

"Why aren't you already married?" Alice asked him quickly. Charles blanked out completely and his hands began to sweat.

"Well… uh…-"

"No girl is good enough for him! He wants to marry the perfect girl who he wants to marry. Someone that won't be bored of going with him all over the world and talking about all the books he reads." James cut him off. Alice's eyes sparkled after hearing this and hugged Charles.

"I can't believe it… You read books?"

"All the time… Alice."

"How about we go back in for some more tea?" James suggested. Alice saw the rabbit watching them, giving James a dirty look and then looked over at Alice which he took out his pocket watch and tapped on it impatiently. He quickly bounced away and Alice took off in a run after him.

"Alice?!"

"You're not getting away this time White Rabbit." Alice said breathing heavily as she took different turns following the sounds the rabbit was making in the bushes. Quickly she walked into a small area where a large oak tree stood in the middle while rose bushes aligned the outer area. She walked over to find a hole big enough for her to fall into and took a step back.

"Hello?" Alice shouted but all she heard was a echo of her own voice in the hole.

"There you are!" James said and Alice quickly turned only to face a man she never saw before…

"James?"

"James is my uh "fake" name. The name is Hatter."

"Hatter?" Alice asked. His chalky white face and pierce green eyes sparkled in the sunlight as he smiled.

"Surprised to see me again? Look we don't have time but to make this short…." He took a deep breath. "The Red Queen's son or Sebastian is after you for your hand in marriage but he's afraid that the White Queen's son, Aaron is trying to steal you away from him so he tapped into your dreams and gave you a false impression of him so you think he's actually a good guy when in reality he's not and now he's going to kidnap you so in order to keep you safe you are to go down the hole and I'll take you to the White Queen's castle."

"Wh-"

"It isn't that hard Alice!"

"I don't understand where is Charles?"

"Back at his house. Can we please hurry along before Sebastian's little tentacle things come up and take us both back to Wonderland the hard way?"

"Wait… He's really a monster!" Alice panicked.

"Is jumping to hard for you?! LET'S GO!" Hatter said before pushing her into the hole before holding onto his hat tightly and jumped in after her.


	3. Welcome to Wonderland, Alice!

_Chapter 3_

_Welcome Back to Wonderland, Alice!_

The fall left Alice gasping for breath as she grabbed her chest, coughing and spitting out blood.

"We have to hurry." Hatter said picking up his hat and grabbing a bottle on the table.

"I remember this place… Don't tell me we have to drink that." Alice said looking at the bottle that said: _Drink Me_.

"You're with me so no Bandersnacthers will find us. Look drink this and when we get past that door eat this." Hatter said kicking the small door by his foot. He took a sip from the bottle before handing it to Alice while he shrank down to the size of a mouse. Alice took a sip and dropped the bottle. The taste was horrible and it smelled like dog's breath. She shrank down and avoided the spilled potion before following Hatter out the door that now seemed normal to them unlike before.

"Alright eat this." Hatter said handing her a little piece of cake.

"Does it taste bad?" Alice asked popping it in her mouth. She grew back to her normal size as did Hatter and the both of them quickly walked through the long grass to the forest.

"Alright now we just have to find Cheshire cat and get to the White Queen." Hatter said looking at a sign at the front of the forest. They walked through the forest and made bunches of turns before Alice saw a long red table filled with cups and treats.

"Hatter hurry up! You almost missed your own party!" A goofy looking brown rabbit said.

"Yes… And you brought the dear Alice as well." A cat said appearing on her shoulders.

"Cheshire good to see you." Alice said. "Look we don't have time for parties. Just help me figure all of this out so I can go back home."

"But Alice…-"

"We don't know what to do… It's all up to you!" A smaller brown mouse said jumping onto the table and up onto Hatter's shoulders.

"Why is it up to me?" Alice asked them.

"You choose your beloved! Sebastian the Prince of Diamonds or Aaron the Prince of Snow." Cheshire said twirling his finger in Alice's hair.

"So let me get this straight… Sebastian isn't good?" Alice asked.

"GOD NO!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"You are so lucky to have friends like us guide you." Cheshire said before floating in front of Alice. "Look whatever you do… never marry Sebastian. The guy may be all hot looking and what not but he's evil with an E. He's just like his mother only worse."

"What about Aaron?"

"Oh he's really nice!" The little mouse said taking a sip of tea.

"Remember that thing you saw when we fell down the hole?" Hatter asked her. Alice looked back into her memories and remembered her memory of falling.

"I remember falling and seeing visions of Charles-"

"That's Aaron." Hatter corrected her.

"So Charles is really Prince Aaron?"

"He had enough magic to send us both there to fetch you but we left him behind… He should be back at the castle by now."

"So Aaron really looked like Lord Charles?! With the white hair and-"

"Yes! Isn't he gorgeous?" The little mouse said sighing.

"Well… he's handsome."

"What else did you see?" The goofy rabbit asked.

"Well… there was another handsome guy and they were both fighting with magic…"

"The other one is Sebastian…" Hatter said.

"Aaron must've held off Sebastian so Alice and Hatter could escape." The mouse said.

"Hatter… We finally got it." A fat little kid said handing Hatter a sack. His twin was silent as he shoved his brother aside and shook Alice's hand.

"I remember you two! Twiddle Dee and Dum!"

"Nice to know we're remembered." One of them said.

"Here throw this on. It'll keep Sebastian from finding us quicker." Hatter said throwing her a purple dress.

"How is this suppose to help?!"

"Because… he knows you're wearing a blue dress."

"And have blond curly hair!"

"But…" Alice felt her hair pulled back in a bun. She looked over at Cheshire.

"I have a habit of messing with hairstyles. I'm always into the colors and whatnot." Cheshire said. Alice stood behind a large oak tree getting dressed before Hatter burned her blue dress and the group took off deeper into the woods.

"How far is this castle?" Alice asked.

"Eh pretty far."

"So…" Alice said stepping over a branch.

"There are things you should know, Alice." Hatter said taking a small branch off his hat and flinging it into a small pond.

"Cheshire can you head over towards the White Queen's castle and send word to her that we'll be there shortly? If anything happens tell the Queen we will be at the village." The little mouse said sitting on Hatter's hat. Cheshire grinned and disappeared from view as he made his way to the castle invisible. The group headed into an abandoned little town where the ground was covered in dead trees and burnt down houses.

"What happened?" Alice asked feeling the bark of one of the dead trees.

"The Red Queen is what happened. After she took over she burnt down this place to scare us into following her orders." Hatter explained throwing aside burnt wood and kicking bricks from the path.

"Isn't this also the place wh-"

"Yeah… this is place where THAT happened." The mouse said cutting off one of the twins.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"The curse was created… the thing that separates Aaron and Sebastian from being twins almost." Hatter said taking a seat on a log looking over the small town.

"Both boys are truly gifted with special powers. They're both sorcerers and given gifts from the Gods like Aaron has the gift to revive someone who was once cursed and heal the wounded but Sebastian is far more powerful. His gifts were to mess with the mind and body and bring beauty into our world but it all changed on that one day." The mouse said.

"Oh she's about to tell a story!" A twin said sitting down in the dead grass. Alice and the brown rabbit took a spot on the other log as the mouse hopped up to the top of Hatter's hat and sat down.

"It was said that the Red Queen's son was old enough to be married like the White Queen's son but both boys were given the luck of being extremely handsome and smart so of course all the girls flock to them easily. The problem was that more girls liked Aaron more because he was from the White Queen's family and actually cared for their passion towards him while Sebastian merely played with their hearts. The story goes that Sebastian became jealous of Aaron and plotted to kill him for awhile before deciding to curse him instead. The day his mother beat the White Queen was the day he headed over to this village where Aaron was hiding and they dueled. Sebastian won by controlling Aaron's mind and in the end he cursed the poor prince. The curse is that if a girl falls in love with Aaron they'll immediately be casted under a spell and jump from Widow's Cliff. It's happen a few times where a girl fell in love with Aaron but Sebastian's curse sent them jumping off the cliff. Now Sebastian knows about you from his mother and plans on taking you as his bride when in reality you were really supposed to be Aaron's."

"Me? Aaron's bride?" Alice asked looking at them.

"That's how the prophecy stated it. A girl with blond curls is the one to break the curse and set the Prince free. He vowed that the girl to break the curse is the one he'll marry." Hatter said eyeing the church top where a small black bird was perched watching them.

"Sebastian is in love with me too?" Alice asked.

"From what Hatter and I heard… yes he is and nothing will stop him from getting what he wants." The mouse said.

"We should stay the night. A storm is approaching." Hatter said looking up at the clouds causing the mouse to almost fall to her death.

"But where will we stay?" The rabbit asked.

"The church stupid." Twiddle Dum said rolling his eyes before getting up from the grass and making his way into the church. The rest of the group except Hatter, Alice and the mouse went inside the church chatting and laughing.

"Alice…" Hatter said.

"If you ever get kidnapped DON'T drink anything he gives you." The mouse said.

"Why?"

"Love potion, Alice. He finally found a way to create it and since he probably thinks we told you that he's bad he'll curse you to and if he gets you to say "I Do" then Aaron will die." Hatter said.

"Aaron will die?! What but how?!"

"His fate is up to you. If by the full moon of winter on his nineteenth birthday that you did not break the curse he'll forever be curse and die. It's a way to make sure Sebastian's plan will work entirely. He must've always known that a girl was able to break the curse he set up his death day as well."

"That's just… horrible…" Alice said.

"So whatever you do… don't eat or drink anything he gives you. All it takes is one kiss and you'll never be the same again." The mouse said.

"So what do I do if he kidnaps me?"

"Ignore him. The best thing to do is reject him and never look him in the eye." Hatter commented.

"Oh yes never look him in the eye. You can't trust a sorcerer at any costs that use their power for evil instead of good."

"… Do you think Sebastian can change?" Alice asked him.

"Well…-"

"No. That boy will never change since his heart was already seen as pure black." Hatter said interrupting the mouse.

"What do you mean by black heart?"

"Well… in Wonderland your heart is measured by how gold it is.. You see if you do a good deed then your heart turns lighter. What Sebastian did to Aaron proved that his heart is pure black or evil, just like his mother's."

"Yeah but he's worse than the Red Queen. He'll kill you if you even sneeze on him." Hatter said and all three of them giggled.

"Poor White Rabbit. He must be seeing death everyday if he's working for him."

"So he really is working for Death himself." Alice said. "Alright you two I'll keep my eyes open for any signs of death."

"Does he still use tentacles?" The mouse asked Hatter.

"Hell yeah he does." Hatter said looking annoyed.

"What?" Alice asked.

"That thing uses tentacles or ropes sort of to scare us. They feed on blood and they hurt. It's like getting a nasty rug burn if they touch you. He normally uses them to scare people or kidnap people in general."

"They appear from his fingertips. Sometimes if you're lucky you can escape from them if light is around. That's the reason why you really see him out at night."

"He isn't some vampire is he?"

"Well… he acts like one."

"And he looks like one."

"FEAR ME OR I'LL SUCK YOUR BLOOD!" Hatter said showing his "fangs" causing Alice to laugh.

"Just remember, the boy with black messy hair with white roots on the back and red eyes is the one you run from. The one with white hair with black roots and blue eyes is a friend."

"Or Aaron."

"Hey you three! The sky is getting darker and the twins found a little bit of food left! HURRY UP!" The goofy rabbit said. The three of them walked inside the church making fun of Sebastian before the church around them shook.

"Damn… The storm might get ugly." Hatter said before taking out a teapot from his coat.

(Palace of the White Queen)

The White Queen was sitting on her throne looking though papers when guards burst in.

"What is the meaning of this?!" The White Queen said looking angrily at the disturbance they caused.

"Sorry madam but there is someone who brings you great news." A guard replied. The Queen got up from her throne.

"Is it Cheshire? Please tell me it's him." The White Queen said. Aaron appeared from another hallway rubbing his eyes. His white fur coat brushing his legs as his black boots clicked on the palace floors.

"She has arrived, my Queen." Cheshire said appearing on the Queen's shoulders giving a large smile.

"Alice is here?! They arrived safely?!" Aaron said rushing over to Cheshire and his mother.

"Safe and sound in the little burnt out village a few miles away." Cheshire cooed.

"Why didn't they come with you?" The Queen asked.

"Well… it's about to storm outside and it's hard to see where you're going in the rain-"

"MY QUEEN!" The captain of the guards said running into the throne room, slipping as he made his way towards her. "Sebastian… he's entered our kingdom and he knows where they are."

"So that means…"

"The storm is really his carriage." Aaron said looking out the window as rain hit the glass.

"BRING BACKUP AND HEAD TO THE BURNT VILLAGE. THEY'RE HIDING THERE! WHATEVER YOU DO DON'T SWALLOW THAT RAIN!" The Queen shouted as guards from all over quickly scattered.

"I'm going with them." Aaron said pulling his sword out from its case on his side.

"I'll be going as well. Cheshire if you will please follow us." The Queen said before the three of them left the throne room and out into the night as a black bird watched them from a tree.

(Burnt Village)

Alice was told to sleep in the loft of the church after dinner to hide from Sebastian if he found them. Her hair turned back to blond as Cheshire's hair color came off in the rain. She was cold as ever and she could hear mice in the shadows squeaking, looking for food.

"_Once upon a time a girl with curly blonde hair who loved to dream." _A voice said. Alice got up and looked around.

"Hatter?"

"_The only problem was that she was incredibly lonely since no one was interested in hearing her stories except her father but sadly her father passed away years ago." _

"This isn't funny. Show yourself." Alice said rubbing her arms to keep them warm.

"_So one day a lonely prince who pained for love saw the girl by herself and only wished that he was there to comfort the poor girl."_

"Aaron?"

"_The boy, always called an outcast and black hearted monster sent the lonely girl down a rabbit hole into his world but alas the Mad Hatter who worked for the real black hearted prince tricked the girl by telling false stories about the lonely prince. The prince felt that he will never get to meet the beautiful girl but now he's finally here to rescue the captured flower from darkness."_

Long black rope like things hissed as they approached Alice from all over. It was then a soft voice hummed a beautiful lullaby and two red eyes appeared from the dark. Alice fell backwards and pushed herself back from the eyes as they got closer revealing a handsome man in red, his skin pale like the moonlight.

"Sebastian…" Alice breathed. He shooed off the rope things and smiled at her before holding his hand out.

"I'm here to rescue you, Alice. You're safe now." Sebastian said. Alice looked at his hand and that his face before letting out an ear piercing scream. She got up and shoved him aside before running down the stairs.

"HATTER HE'S HERE! HATTER HELP!" Alice screamed said trying to open the wooden door to where Hatter was sleeping but it wouldn't open. Sebastian got up and felt a bump on his head before his blood boiled.

"_Get her!_ They told her lies! Kill the Mad Hatter and his friends!" Sebastian hissed before walking smoothly down the stairs and saw the wooden door smashed to bits. The ropes searched the church and began causing fires hoping to scope out anyone.

"Come on Alice!" Hatter said as the group ran towards the hills behind the village. The Mad Hatter could see the White Queen's army approach a mile away as he waved his hands up.

"HATTER!" Cheshire cat meowed as he appeared in front of Alice's face. Sebastian's ropes grabbed a hold of Hatter's ankles before pulling him to the ground and away from the group.

"HATTER!" Alice screamed trying to grab his hand but a rope caught onto her and pulled her away as well.

"NO!" The mouse said cutting the rope from Alice.

"Run you ighits!" Cheshire cat told the twins and the rabbit.

"Alice!" The White Queen wailed as her son ran ahead of the army and to the hills when Sebastian appeared into view holding Alice and Hatter with his ropes.

"Looks like I win… again. Maybe next time you should plan your hostage situation better. Oh wait… you'll be dead in a few days anyway." Sebastian said letting his ropes pull Hatter and Alice closer to him, their eyes and mouths covered along with their arms and legs.

"Alice!" Aaron screamed as Sebastian vanished and the clouds above faded away leaving a starry night sky. Aaron fell to the ground screaming and wailing as tears fell from his face. His mother grabbed him and hugged him tightly crying as she tried to comfort her son. The bastard Sebastian broke her child's heart yet again and this time it was the final straw.


	4. Prince Sebastian, Alice!

_Chapter 4_

_Prince Sebastian, Alice!_

"Is she awake?"

"Let me see!"

"Move aside so I can see her!"

"You ighit big head get in the back!"

Alice opened her eyes to see tiny little men with fiery red hair and red eyes stare at her.

"I'm dreaming aren't I?" Alice asked them as she moved backwards and huddled herself by the wall.

"We're Sebastian's servants at your service Princess Alice!" All of them said before bowing, their pointy noses touching the floor.

"Where am I?" Alice asked getting up and brushing the dirt off her skirt. She looked around and saw the sun glittering outside in the red clouds.

"Princess! We are here to escort you to the throne room where Prince Sebastian will formally introduce himself.

"Princess? I'm not a princess… I'm just… Alice. Who are you and… What are you?" Alice asked as she knelt down and picked up one of the little servants in her hand. All the little servants were the size of a small flower plot and as heavy as a brick.

"I'm Godfred, Princess and Prince Sebastian has ordered us to call you Princess!" The little elf thing said bowing in her palm.

"Princess we must change your dress! It's covered in dirt and grime!" The other elf things said before opening a smaller door filled with expensive looking gowns and hats. Alice walked over as Godfred hopped onto her shoulder and she pulled out a red and black gown covered in black fabric around the top.

"This one is perfect." Alice said smiling as she laid it on the red bed beside her.

"These shoes will match nicely, Princess!" The elves said handing her black high heels.

"These will also match nicely too, Princess." Godfred said pulling out chandelier diamonds earrings.

"Oh will you look at that… It's red…" Alice said looking at the earrings. "Alright time for you elves to get out. If my only private time is for me to get dressed then I'll abuse that time." Alice said opening her door as the elves shuffled out looking gloom.

"You sure you don't need help?" A little elf girl said pulling on Alice's dress.

"Well… Since you're a girl I need help tying the back of my dress. You can stay. Everyone else out and drop some of that red… you look like a bunch of walking cough drops…" Alice said before closing the door on them.

"I like her… She's nice!" Godfred said looking at the others.

"Prince Sebastian chose well!" A few said before the little elves cheered and started to dance.

"I'm Goderella, Princess." The elf girl said as Alice placed her on the bed.

"Forgive me but… is Sebastian… nice?"

"Oh the nicest as they come! He's a real sweetheart once you get to know him." Goderella said as Alice turned her back to her and slipped off her dress.

"Well… Hatter told me that he cursed Prince Aaron."

"Well of course he did! Aaron is an ungrateful prince with the only desire to steal Prince Sebastian's true love. He just wants to kill Prince Sebastian."

"Hatter said if I say 'I Do' to Sebastian then Aaron will die." Alice said putting on the red gown and leaning down so Goderella could tie up the back.

"Well that is true… but if you say 'I Do' to Aaron, then Sebastian will die. They're both under the curse and the only way to break it is if one of them die…" Alice sat on the bed and put on her shoes as Goderella took out a brush and started to brush the dirt out of Alice's hair.

"This doesn't make any sense… Why would Hatter lie to me?"

"Hatter works for the White Queen! Of course he would mess with you mind so you'll marry her son and the Red Queen would suffer by losing her son. Those two are actually sisters but both of their husbands died in a terrible accident and they both blame each other for their deaths."

"But… isn't it true Sebastian and Aaron look alike?"

"It's part of the curse! Sebastian has some white hair because his curse backfired." Goderella said finishing up with Alice's hair. Alice placed the earrings back into the jewelry box before getting up and twirling around.

"You look beautiful, Princess!"

"Please… Between you and I… please don't call me Princess."

"Why not, Alice?"

"Princesses are spoiled rotten… I just want to be Alice." Alice said before holding out her hand and letting Goderella ride on her shoulder as the two of them walked out of her room and into a now even bigger group of tiny elves.

"Princess!"

"She's beautiful!"

"Godfred… Please tell me these aren't all my servants…" Alice said as Godfred climbed up her dress and sat on the other side of Goderella.

"No half of them serves Sebastian as well. Alright move aside so the Princess can get through. Hey Godspell, quick licking the wall!" Godfred shouted at the elf licking the wall. The elves moved aside as Alice avoided stepping on any of them before walking down the red hallway. On the walls were paintings of Sebastian and his mother sitting in their thrones or walking in the rose garden.

"See? Isn't he just amazing?" Goderella said gazing at the paintings.

"It's a shame you never met the king. Sebastian looks just like his dad." Godfred said sighing.

"How did his dad die?"

"In a battle against a neighboring kingdom. Both the Red king and the White king teamed up with a massive army to battle the kingdom and as a result both kings died. It broke the Queen's heart when she heard the news." Godfred said before the three of them approached large gold and red double doors. Two card guards opened the door and Alice at once felt cold as she got her first glimpse of the Queen. The queen stood up from her throne and held out her hand as the two elves jumped off Alice's shoulders and scurried out of the room down another hall as Alice stepped forward.

"Come, daughter. Welcome to the Red place and into my family, dear Alice." The Queen said as Alice grabbed her hand and she was pulled up the tiny stairs into a hug.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you again after so many years." Alice said as the Queen let go of her and slumped back into her chair, sipping on red wine from her crystal glass.

"Well my son has gone from quiet and rude to a chatty blabbing baboon with planning this welcome ball for you tonight. He wants to marry as soon as possible to keep my sister from starting a war with us."

"If I may have a say in this… It seems all to kind, Your Majesty but I don't deserve this…"

"Well of course you don't! Sebastian is going to spoil you rotten to the core with this wedding planning."

"My Queen… The Prince has returned." A guard said bowing.

"Fine. Bring in the prisoner as well."

"Right away." The guard said before rushing out of the throne room.

"AND BRING ME ANOTHER GLASS OF WINE!"

Alice took a seat on the stairs and fixed her shoes before the Queen kicked her back.

"No no no a Princess must never sit on the floor. You sit in Sebastian's throne for now until we order a chair for you." The Queen said and Alice stood up and sat in Sebastian throne. The doors swung open and the large group of elves walked in including two guards carrying Hatter.

"HATTER!" Alice shouted.

"A PRINCESS NEVER SCREAMS!" The Queen said putting her scepter in front of Alice so she couldn't get up.

"You're royal hiney…" Hatter said as the guards dropped him and he bowed to the Queen.

"You lied to Alice, disrespected my son and kicked one of the servants when they brought you food. I should serve your head to my bandersnatch on a silver platter with a side of ranch dressing."

"I would taste better with Honey Mustard, Queen of Screams."

"Hatter…" Alice said making a pretend cut on her neck.

"Put him next to Alice. I want everyone to witness, Sebastian's entrance!" The Queen said standing up and slamming her scepter on the ground. The elves lined up in four rows as Godfred took a whistle and played a C.

"_Prince Sebastian, Prince Sebastian! The amazing sorcerer, Prince Sebastian, Prince Sebastian everybody give a cheer. He's handsome, honest and so nice he barely can contain it! With so much kindness there is no way to contain it! To contain...to contain...to contain...to contain. Prince Sebastian! Prince Sebastian! He's the one you're about to meet! Prince Sebastian! Prince Sebastian! He's the wizard that can't be beat! The magician and the fire spell wiz, the best darn guy who ever lived! Prince Sebastian here he is!" _The elves sang as the guards opened the double doors.

"That song was so gay… It gave me sugarities." Hatter whispered.

"What's that?" Alice whispered back as the elves cheered as someone walked through the doors.

"A gay man disease. I felt like my ears were just raped." Hatter said. Alice looked back and saw Sebastian in a black and red tailcoat tux at the foot of the stairs look right at her.

"My dear, beautiful, Alice." Sebastian said bowing before her.

"I think I'm going to throw up." Hatter whispered. Sebastian's eyes glared at Hatter and his mouth twitched in anger before taking a deep breath and looked back at Alice. Alice stood up and shook Sebastian's hand, as she studied his features.

"_Well he is really good looking like they say…" _Sebastian was tall for his age but well built. His once messy black hair was cleaned and fixed so his white back roots stood out. His eyes were a blood red with a slight shade of gold here and there and his pale skin glittered as the sun shined through the windows. All in all he had the looks of a pure vampire prince.

"Prince Sebastian." Alice said before Sebastian grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"So sorry for not making a better impression on myself but I just had to get you away from Aaron before it was too late." Sebastian said, his eyes twinkling. Alice's stomach flipped a little when he pulled her down and gave her a hug.

"Please, God, if you do exist… make my death less as painful as what I'm suffering right now by watching this crap." Hatter plead.

"Mad Hatter… You know you're head would be gone by now if it were up to me." Sebastian said as he held Alice by her waist.

"_Get it together Alice… He's the bad guy not the good guy! Oh by why does he have to be soooo cute!" _

"Well Prince I'm so hot, if you don't mind… please make my death as quick and clean as you can." Hatter said leaning down in front of him.

"No! Don't kill Hatter!" Alice said getting out of Sebastian's grasp and stood in front of Hatter.

"What the hell are you doing Alice? I'm doing myself a favor by dying instead of hearing this lovely dovey garbage." Hatter whispered while Sebastian was talking to his mother.

"Just go on with the plan. We'll escape right after this ball they're planning to have."

"Pinky swear." Hatter said sticking out his pinky. They shook pinkies before Hatter stood up straight.

"Someone hand me my hat and some fabric. My Queen I shall make you the most beautiful hat for this ball tonight." Hatter said grasping the Queen's hand.

"Okay… SEBASTIAN! GO GET MY DESIGNERS!" The Queen shouted.

"I'm sorry my dear but I need to leave and escape from my mother so I can get ready. Goderella will make the most beautiful gown for you to wear." Sebastian said holding Alice's hands. He kissed her cheeked and walked out of the throne room, closing the double doors.

"He's romantic isn't he?" Goderella said handing Alice a glass of wine.

"He didn't touch that did he?" Alice asked pointing at the glass.

"It's from the kitchen…"

"Oh! Thanks, Goderella." Alice said taking the glass and taking a tiny sip. The wine rolled down her throat like honey but tasted like heaven. Alice ended up drinking the rest of the wine and ended up thirsty for more….

"THE PRINCESS'S GLASS IS EMPTY! SOMEONE REFILL IT!" The Queen shouted and an elf servant stood before Alice holding a pitcher of the wine. She knelt down and took the pitcher polity, pouring herself more of the wine and ending up gulping the liquid down.

"Would you like some, Red Queen?" Alice asked the Queen noticing her glass was empty as well.

"Oh… no my dear. I drink a different type of wine. That one is filled with too much sugar for me." The Queen said. Hatter eyed Alice gulping down more of the wine until the pitcher was empty.

"Alice… You should go get ready for the ball tonight." Hatter said measuring the Queen's head.

"Oh! Come on Alice, I have the perfect gown idea for you that will make the Prince fall in love with you more!" Goderella said.

"Can I help?" Godfred said.

"Actually, Godfred, I need help with these hats I'm going to make." Hatter said grabbing his hat from one of the guards.

"You better not make my hat as ugly as that one." The Queen said glaring at Hatter.

"Don't worry my lovely octopus it'll be red, red, and even more red, like my blood that should've been already shed." Hatter said bowing before her before following Alice and Goderella into the hallway.

"I'm thinking… red with black and a mixture of black and red sparkles!" Goderella told Alice as they turned down the hallway to Alice's room.

"Alice!" Hatter said catching up to them.

"Excuse me… You're supposed to be working on hats." Goderella said crossing her arms.

"I know I know. Alice don't drink that wine anymore." Hatter said grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

"Why not?" Alice asked him.

"IT'S HIS POTION! I've seen this act before… Just don't drink it anymore!"

"Let's go Alice… Clearly Hatter is really as mad as they say." Goderella said as Alice opened the door and slamming it behind her.

"Is he really trying to poison her?" Godfred asked Hatter.

"You know the story just as well as I do. Keep that damn wine away from her. Aaron is counting on you." Hatter told Godfred.

"Hatter… You have my word. Sebastian will always be the enemy to me." Godfred said saluting Hatter as the two of them walk down the hall creating an escape plan.


	5. Poison, Alice!

_Chapter 5_

_Poison, Alice!_

The guests arrived as soon as the sun was setting in the east. The ballroom was covered in shades of red, gold and black as people danced to the stringed orchestra and ate the delicious chocolate bombs from the tables scattered around the room. Prince Sebastian was waiting patiently next to his mother for the guest of honor to arrive. He was wearing a black and red tux with black boots, his hair pulled back, his eyes glittering. Surrounding them were bunches of giggling girls admiring him as he kept checking his watch.

"They should've already been here by now." Sebastian said looking at his watch.

"A prince should never get this nervous over a giggling girl, Sebastian." The Queen said peering through her glasses at other guests.

"She isn't another giggling girl, mother. She's… different. She's like… a bright flower that lightens my dark heart."

"Whatever, here, have a chocolate bomb." The Queen said handing her son one of the deserts.

"Mother…"

"Here you go madam." Hatter said appearing from behind the two of them with the Queen's hat. It was a velvet red hat with a black hawk on the top.

"OH! I LOVE IT!" The Queen said putting the hat on her head and looking at herself in the mirrors on the wall. Sebastian looked at it with disgust and walked away from them as he made his way onto the dance floor.

"Dance with me, Sebastian?"

"No dance with me!"

"Oh please, Sebastian dance with me!"

Sebastian ignored the girls' pleas as he walked out of the ballroom and into the kitchen where dozens of cooks and waiters were bustling around with trays of deserts and wine.

"Prince Sebastian! What brings you in here?" A cook with bright red hair asked shaking the Prince's hand.

"I need a favor Fabian." Sebastian said.

"Oh anything." Fabian replied tasting the soup in a pot before adding more salt and pepper.

"Where is the wine Alice had this afternoon?" Sebastian asked.

"In the vault in the very back. Why did she drink that whole pitcher we gave the waiter already?"

"Yes but I need to add an extra spice to it." Sebastian said showing him a black vile.

"Is that?"

"Tell no one, Fabian." Sebastian said before walking down to the end of the kitchen and heading over towards the gold vault.

"Sebastian!" Another cook said slapping him on the back.

"Hey… Do me a favor and open that vault will you?" Sebastian asked. The cook happily tossed his towel into a basket and punched in a few numbers before the door opened and inside stood rows and rows of glittering black wine bottles. Sebastian walked inside and picked out one wine bottle and set it on the table inside the vault. He opened it and the smell of red grapes filled the small area and he smiled briefly as he took out the vile and poured the potion inside the bottle and closed it quickly before getting out carrying the bottle and handing it to Fabian.

"Keep that bottle by you at all times and only Alice drinks that, got it?"

"Of course, Sebastian." Fabian said before going back to cooking. Sebastian left the kitchen and went back into the ballroom where he saw Alice standing next to Hatter and a bunch of other girls chatting and laughing. Her dress was red with gold running up the side of the top part of her dress and black running down the middle of the skirt. The gown swept the floor when she twirled for her new friends. Her hair was curled and Goderella even formed a tiara from her hair and pieced with a red rose to match her dress. His heart raced when he looked back and saw Fabian standing in front of the kitchen with a glass of the wine and another waiter. Sebastian shook his head and the two of them went back inside the kitchen as Sebastian approached the group giving a glittering smile.

"Alice! Dear, you look absolutely beautiful. Would you mind if I steal you for the night?" Sebastian asked holding out his arm to her. Hatter nudged Alice and looked darkly at Sebastian as Alice walked forward and accepted his offer as the two of them stepped into the dance floor and fox trot for quite a while.

"Those two are one weird couple." The Queen said taking a sip of wine.

"You are absolutely right." Hatter said pulling a tea cup from his coat and taking a long sip of tea. They watched as Alice and Sebastian danced, the guests watching them from the sides before the song ended and the crowd cheered.

"May I present my lovely fiancé, Alice!" Sebastian said showing the crowd Alice. She waved and blew a kiss to them. Sebastian grabbed her arm and pulled her away to the windows where they went outside onto the balcony. Alice stepped forward and looked out as she saw the forest and the stars glittering and painting the night sky above.

"May I?" Sebastian said as another song started to play. A slower, romantic song. Alice grabbed his hand and the two twirled and danced in the moonlight to the sweet melodies of the strings. Alice laughed as Sebastian lifted her up and spun her around, placing her back on her feet and sitting her down on a stone bench.

"I want you to have this." Sebastian said handing her a long black box tied with a sparkly red ribbon. Alice took it from him and untied the string, handing it back to him which he tied into her hair. She opened the box and took out a gold necklace with a red and blue diamond side by side with a gold heart locket with a blue and red spiral design on the front.

"It's… gorgeous…" Alice breathed as Sebastian took it from her and placed it on her neck, locking it in the back.

"To symbolize our love for eternities to come." Sebastian said kissing her neck softly. Alice looked forward looking straight at Hatter. Hatter looked away and started talking to the Red Queen, paying no attention to Alice.

"I'm cold." Alice said brushing Sebastian away from her and getting up.

"Yeah it is actually." Sebastian said grabbing her hand and pulling her inside. The two of them walked over to the table where the Queen was sitting and chatted about the rose garden the Queen was rebuilding.

"Oh Alice the more flowers we have the more red this palace will be!" The Queen said taking another sip of wine. Sebastian saw the waiter Fabian was with and looked at him sharply. The waiter quickly went back into the kitchen to grab Alice's drink and flag Fabian down for the royal families' dinner.

"What if you added a little more color? What about red and gold roses?" Alice asked the Queen taking a bite of her chocolate bomb.

"Red and gold?" The Queen asked thinking about the idea.

"It'll bring out the color of the palace AND it's your two favorite colors. Red and gold also match perfectly and gold also symbolizes strength and beauty."

"I like this idea… What if we made the benches gold as well? Wait! Red and gold roses on the same trees! It's a perfect idea." The Queen said happily as waiters appeared setting down chicken, cranberry sauce, pasta and eggs onto the table with more glasses of wine. A waiter placed a glass of wine in front of Alice and Sebastian stared at her as she looked at it.

"Can I just have water, please?" Alice asked the waiter.

"Silly girl! We don't have water. Drink the wine and shut up." The Queen said before taking a bite of chicken. Alice picked up the glass and took a small sip. Sebastian smiled into his glass and looked over at the waiter who frowned and walked away. The family ate and talked as Hatter told stories that made everyone laugh except Alice. She was in a daze with confused thoughts and feelings. She looked over at Sebastian who smiled at her and put a hand on her thigh.

"How about some deserts?" The Queen asked everyone.

"I'm retiring early tonight. Goodnight everyone." Sebastian said kissing Alice's head before leaving the table.

"Well what a party pooper." Hatter said handing everyone a chocolate bomb.

"Hatter…" Alice said placing a hand on his sleeve.

"What's wrong?" Hatter asked.

"Something isn't right…" Alice said.

"_Why am I seeing colors?"_

"Alice… nothing is wrong! Come on join the party! It is a ball for you, you know." Hatter said pouring her more wine from a strange black bottle. Alice took another gulp of wine and felt sick to her stomach.

"I'm going to bed… I'm not feeling good." Alice said getting up from her chair and tripping.

"Alice!" The Queen shouted.

"I'm okay… I just need… rest." Alice said as she wobbled out of the ballroom. She walked down a hallway seeing pinks and greens.

"Oh curious colors. I thought this place was red." Alice said falling onto the carpet again.

"Cheep!"

"Chhheeeeppp!"

Alice pulled her head up to see a small pink monster thing with big black eyes smiling down at her. He knocked on her head before letting out tiny squeaks. At once a bunch of pink things fluttered over towards her and started to tickle her.

"No! Stop that tickles!" Alice said starting to laugh and she picked herself up laughing as they pushed her forward down the hall. In the ballroom, Hatter was pouring himself more tea when Godfred pulled on his pants.

"Oh! My little friend who help make the hats." Hatter said lifting Godfred onto the table.

"Hatter! Alice is in trouble!"

"Alice… but she went to bed."

"She went down the hallway to Sebastian's wing… Aaron's life is in danger." Godfred said frowning at the Hatter.

"Well of course she would go down to his room! They are little love birds and… whatever teenagers do, I don't know I was teen when those things called Dinosaurs walked this place." Hatter said before fainting and falling onto the ground.

"Oh boy…" Godfred said shaking his head. "Hatter's drunk."

Alice walked up to golden double doors and burst through them laughing as the fairies flew away and left her giggling. She calmed herself down and looked up to see Sebastian leaning against the balcony door, his shirt open and in his hand was a glass of wine as he looked down at her and smiled.

"Hatter! Hatter wake up and smell the roses! Hatter hurry up we have to save Alice!" Godfred said slapping Hatter.

"Alice!" Hatter said quickly getting up shoving Godfred aside and running out of the ballroom. Godfred groaned and followed Hatter rubbing his head.

"The hallway to the left…" Godfred said and Hatter quickly picked him up and they took off down the hallway.

"He poisoned me didn't he?" Hatter asked.

"He found your stash of tea and mixed confusion and happiness potion together to make you act drunk so you'll pass out. He didn't think that I was going to help you."

At once the pink fairies appeared and Hatter slapped them away against the wall.

"I only make myself laugh thank you very much. They walked forward and slammed into an invisible wall.

"What the hell?" Hatter said trying to get through.

"Oh no! It's another spell!" Godfred said banging on the invisible barrier.

"How are we supposed to get through?!" Hatter asked slamming his fists on the barrier. "ALICE! ALICE DON'T KISS THAT BASTARD HE'S EVIL!" Hatter screamed and fell to the ground sobbing.

"Sebastian…?" Alice asked before quickly getting up and fixing her dress. Her mind was racing when he walked towards her and handed her the glass.

"You must be thirsty from your trip here. I wasn't half expecting you to find me."

"I… uh… those things brought me here…" Alice turned and saw that the door was closed.

"Things…?"

"They're gone…" Alice said placing her glass on the nightstand and opening the double doors only to see nothing in the hallway. She closed the doors and looked back at Sebastian. She took her glass off the table and drank the whole thing before handing it to Sebastian and walking out onto the balcony. Sebastian followed her out, setting the glass on a table. He put hugged her from behind as they looked out into the kingdom below. Drunk guests bellowing and laughing were leaving the palace singing and dancing as they hopped into their carriages and drove off into the night.

"This curse keeps holding me back." Sebastian said placing his head on Alice's shoulder.

"Then fight it." Alice said.

"I can't fight it. Love is my only weapon."

"Then find it… You're smart enough to find it."

"But… I already did…" Sebastian said smiling into her shoulder.

"Why fall for someone like me? I'm mad as the Hatter."

"Maybe madness is all I need."

"Madness is something you can't obtain but it's more of a sickness."

"My dear but you've got it all wrong." Sebastian said turning her around and holding her chin and grinning handsomely.

"What do you mean?" Alice asked giggling and leaning into him. _Goodness what is wrong with me? Why is he making me feel like a giggling girl?"_

"I am seducing madness aren't I?"

"I… uh…" Alice said blushing and Sebastian leaned in and kissed her shooting sparks into Alice's heart. He pulled away and held her hands.

"Say you love me, Alice." Sebastian said looking at her. Alice looked into his eyes and smiled.

"I love you, Sebastian." Alice said before kissing him. He pulled her inside shutting the balcony doors and kissing her again as the poison cloudy her mind and Alice was taken on the greatest ride of her life.


	6. Escape, Alice!

_Chapter 6_

_Escape, Alice!_

Alice's head was pounding when she woke up. She felt sick on the inside as well as the outside when she turned over and saw Sebastian sleeping next to her, his back to her.

"…Oh god." Alice whispered getting out of bed and grabbing the quilt as she made her way into the bathroom and started throwing up her brains.

"_How… How did this happen?! Sebastian seduced me and I can't remember a thing!" _

She got up and looked in the mirror. Her makeup was running and her hair was knotted and pretty much ruined. She needed to leave and quickly.

Down the hallway Hatter and Godfred finally had enough to drink as they walked through the hallways drunk, tripping on every little thing.

"What were we looking for?" Godfred asked Hatter as they brushed aside the annoying fairies and through the invisible barrier.

"Oh… so that's how we got through. Silly Sebastian he lost again!" Hatter shouted before tripping and knocking himself out. Godfred leaned on the wall before falling asleep peacefully dreaming about pink fairies and food.

"Alice? Are you alright?" Sebastian said from the bedroom.

"Too much food." Alice said lying between her teeth. _I need to escape and find Hatter or he'll poison me again._

"Come back to bed."

"I'll be there in a minute."

She could hear his snores from the bathroom and she looked inside the cabinet for medicine. She came across a vile label "Sleep" and quickly she pulled it out and read the instructions.

"Carefully place some under the nose and sleep peacefully until the sun rises!" Alice whispered reading the bottle. She looked out the window and noticed that it was still pretty dark out. She walked into the bedroom and carefully took some of the sleeping medicine out and smeared it under Sebastian's nose. He groaned and waved her away before turning over and snoring again. Quickly Alice looked into his closet to find a couple of extra dresses that were her size (_What was he expecting me to just move in with him?) _and put one on before grabbing her shoes and making her way to the door. She felt her fingers touch the handle when her stomach groaned and twisted and she silently screamed in pain and passed out on the red carpet floor.

Hatter finally woke up with a headache and a desire for tea when he heard a bang from down the hall.

"Alice!" Hatter said and grabbed a passed out Godfred as he charged down the hall. Hatter opened the red double doors and saw Sebastian sleeping soundly as he walked inside. The air around them was heavy and he heard moans of pain from the bathroom. Hatter set Godfred down and quickly barged into the bathroom where he found Alice throwing up and crying her eyes out.

"Alice?" Hatter asked laying a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, tears streaming down her face.

"Who are you?" Alice asked.

"Oh no…" Hatter said.

"Are you one of Sebastian's friends?"

"Not even. Come on let's get you out of here."

"But I can't leave now! I have to marry Sebastian!"

"That damn potion crap of his made you loony!"

"He told me he loved me…" Alice said as Hatter picked her up and walked out of the bathroom.

"NO DON'T TOUCH ME! LET ME GO! SEBASTIAN! SEBASTIAN HELP ME!" Alice screamed as she tried kicking Hatter. He poked Godfred who woke up and yawned.

"We need to go! She must've given him sleeping medicine before that potion took over again."

"We have fifteen minutes until the sun rises!" Godfred said looking outside and saw the sky turning a light dusty blue from miles away. Hatter and Godfred jogged down the hallway before Alice finally kicked Hatter and he dropped her onto the floor.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!" Alice screamed. Hatter ignored her pleas and picked her up as he jogged past the throne room and made his way into the garden.

"Now where is that damn Bandersnatch thing?" Hatter said before opening a shed door and a bear like thing roared into his face.

"HEY! It's me Hatter. We need to go to the White Palace now or Alice here will end up going mad." Hatter explained as he cut Bandersnatch's ropes off.

The sun rose high enough for Sebastian to wake up as he yawned and stretched his arms up. He looked around and saw his quilt by the bathroom door and the bottle of sleeping medicine on his nightstand.

"Alice?" Sebastian asked getting out of bed. He looked in the bathroom and on the balcony before he screams from outside. He threw on black pants and a black sweater as he went outside onto his balcony and saw Hatter with Alice on the Bandersnatch. Alice was crying her eyes out begging Hatter to leave her so she could stay here.

"HATTER!" Sebastian screamed.

"Whoops. Gotta go." Hatter said and the Bandersnatch took off out of the gardens onto the bridge connecting the castle to the dirt road.

"GUARDS! ALICE HAS BEEN KIDNAP!" Sebastian screamed grabbing his sword and jumping down onto a lower balcony and another until he reached the ground and chased after Hatter.

"Don't let them get to White Palace!" Sebastian screamed at his mother pet bird as it took off after Hatter and the Bandersnatch. As Hatter guided the Bandersnatch towards the White Palace, Alice passed out and fell onto Bandersnatch's neck.

"DAMMIT!" Hatter said holding onto Alice so she wouldn't fall off. Godfred stood on Hatter's shoulder watching from behind as he saw the bird coming.

"BIRD!" Godfred screamed and Bandersnatch quickly ran into the forest hiding them from view.

"How far away are we?" Godfred asked Hatter as Bandersnatch slowed his pace and started to walk through the dark forest.

"Only a mile away at the least." Hatter said looking above as he saw the clouds become whiter than what they were at the Red Palace.

"Is she going to be okay?" Godfred asked looking down at Alice.

"Well… he poisoned her enough to keep her under his spell for almost twenty four hours. Lucky for us that Aaron can make an antidote."

"Did she say it…?"

"No… If she did then Sebastian would've have enough power to kill us from miles away."

"Then what happened when we couldn't reach her?" Godfred asked as they saw the White Palace ahead of them.

"I don't even want to know… She probably doesn't remember." Hatter said.

"HATTER!" March Hare said as they pulled up in front of the palace. The White Queen rushed out of her castle and hugged Hatter tightly.

"They said you escaped from there when Alice knocked out Sebastian with sleeping potion."

"Yes well we were lucky enough to escape since she was kicking and screaming."

"She's still under the spell?"

"Prince Aaron needs to make the antidote now before she wakes up." Godfred said bowing to the Queen.

"Thank you so much for bringing her back. We are forever welcome to live here." The Queen said bowing her head at him. Hatter carried Alice inside and laid her gently on the throne floor.

"Aaron?" The White Queen asked and her son appeared from behind the throne chairs.

"You brought her back!" Aaron said rushing over towards Hatter and Godfred, shaking their hands.

"Careful! She's still under that bastard's curse." Hatter said as Aaron kneeled down next to Alice.

"My god… She's absolutely beautiful." Aaron said holding her hand. Hatter and Godfred looked at each other noticing that Alice looked like she was mauled by Bandersnatch and shrugged their shoulders. Aaron squeezed her hand as her outline glowed a pretty light blue. Light exploded from around the two of them and Alice stirred and opened her eyes looking right at Aaron.

"Aaron?" Alice asked squinting her eyes from the light. Aaron cried tears of joy as he hugged her.

"Well that settles that." Hatter said walking over to the White Queen. Alice looked at Aaron's face and lightly touched it. His hair was a messy white and she could see the black roots in the back. His skin was lighter than Sebastian's and his eyes were piercing blue like the sky.

"Your eyes… They're scary blue." Alice said as Aaron helped her up. He laughed and caught her when she almost fell.

"Welcome home, Alice!" The White Queen said giving Alice a warm hug.

"This place reminds me of winter." Alice said.

"Well we have pure hearts unlike everyone at the Red Palace."

"Oh no! Goderella! I forgot all about her!"

"Alice it's okay!" Godfred said stepping aside to show Goderella right behind him, her face in her hands.

"Oh Alice!" She wailed and Alice leaned down to hug her. "I GAVE YOU THAT POTION WITHOUT KNOWING THAT SEBASTIAN POSIONED IT! I'M SO SORRY!" Goderella cried.

"It's alright… You didn't know." Alice said patting her on the back.

"Wow… if he has to poison you to make you fall in love with him, he's really desperate." Aaron said causing Hatter and Godfred to choke and cough.

"At least you're safe now. Aaron has a heart full of gold. I can't believe I thought Sebastian was the nice one! Godfred had to explain to me everything and told me to run here so I wouldn't be killed after you escaped." Goderella said.

"You'll be Alice's main maid and hair stylist." Aaron told her.

"Thank you, Prince Aaron."

"I'm hungry." Alice said, her stomach grumbled in agreement. She got up putting Goderella on her shoulder as the White Queen showed them to the dining room. Aaron grabbed Alice's hand and kissed her forehead softly.

"Don't worry I'll never poison you." Aaron said making Alice half smile. He sat down next to her as cooks came out from the kitchen with plates of delicious food. Alice blocked out the conversations the White Queen was starting as she picked at her eggs and toast. Sebastian did what he had to do to keep her from coming here. She felt a pity almost for leaving him. He was always one step behind Aaron and now… he lost his only love. Alice dropped her fork and cried softly into her napkin as everyone stared at her.

"Alice?" Aaron asked holding her shoulder.

"I left him… I left him when he showed me only love and I showed him hate. He poisoned me so I would stay. All he wanted was me… he didn't want massive power or your head on a plate… He just wanted me and he told me he loved me and he kissed me and…. Oh god… and I left him behind with a broken heart." Alice cried.

"Oh no…" White Queen said covering her mouth. Godfred wiped away a tear rolling down his face so no one would notice. Aaron looked up at his mother realizing what Sebastian did before hugging Alice.

"I knew it that bastard would do that." Hatter said throwing down his napkin and charging out from the room, grabbing the white teapot and a cup.

"Hatter! Oh Aaron please heal her as much as you can. This poor girl doesn't need any more sadness." The White Queen said before going after Hatter. Aaron took Alice with Godfred and Goderella to a large room filled with assortments of potions and antidotes. Aaron quickly created an antidote and gave it to Alice which she gulped down.

"It'll take away the pain. Alice… he tricked you. He doesn't really love you, he just wants immortal power and he'll get that if I die." Aaron said ruffling her hair. Alice twitched and hugged him. The pain of leaving Sebastian but she knew deep down inside that Sebastian really loved her and she couldn't bear leaving him like that.

* * *

Sebastian looked out the throne window in sadness, his shirt ripped from his rage, his eyes puffy from crying. His mother was even too scared to check on him for the fear of losing her head from his rage fits. Mary Beth stood outside the doors watching sadness consume Sebastian. She took a deep breath and walked inside.

"Do you want anything?" Mary Beth asked holding a tray of wine and cookies.

"A cure for a broken heart. Aaron's head on a platter and for Alice to return." Sebastian said.

"Well I can give you one of those things but it won't bring Alice back or cure your heart." Mary Beth said sitting next to him.

"Your fiancé left you… How do you cope with that?" Sebastian asked.

"I just remember that he was never mine to begin with."

"But she was always mine! She… she loved me." Sebastian said putting his head between his knees.

"She was forced to leave remember? I'm sure she misses you just as much as you miss her."

"Psh I bet that stupid prince already poisoned her too."

"You did it so she couldn't leave. He's doing it so she believes she loves him. She loved you from the start."

"Just leave me. I want to be by myself." Sebastian said. Mary Beth picked herself up and walked out of the throne room doors, her black hair with red highlights flapping against her.

"You're going to pay for this Hatter." Mary Beth hissed under her breath as she closed the doors.

Just outside the doors she let her tears fall since she didn't want Sebastian to see her cry. She didn't want him to see how much she really loved him.


	7. Broken, Alice?

_~Author's Note~_

_This is the first time I'm writing a note in this story but this story is dedicated to my best friend Jenny. For a girl who is a writer at heart and always works her hardest in order to achieve her goals. I love you to death Jen and you'll always be my best friend even though I left the school I thought I was going to stay in for my high school years..._

_~ReginaRheims7711_

_**Alice Update!**  
_

_**I'm a huge soundtrack fan and a fan of this story asked to post a "Soundtrack" to this book on my website. Kudos to you fangirl because I'm in the process of throwing one together! Check back soon or visit my website to see if the soundtrack is posted! All music is able to be downloaded for your use so enjoy! **_

_Chapter 7_

_Broken, Alice?_

"My mother used to sing me lullabies when I was upset over my dad's sudden death." Alice said as she stood outside in the garden with Aaron. He was showing her around the palace as his antidote was kicking in. So far he was only able to show her the library, her room, and the garden since Alice was slower since she never realized her leg was wounded when they escaped from Sebastian.

"Do you miss him? Your dad?" Aaron asked as he took off a white rose and put it in Alice's hair.

"Most of the time, yes but I'm older now, seventeen in fact, and all I want to do is explore."

"You're seventeen? Sebastian and I are exactly nineteen years old."

"Alright… explain something to me." Alice said sitting down on a bench that overlooked a glittering fountain in the middle of the garden.

"About?" Aaron asked taking a seat next to her.

"This curse you two share."

"He created it but we're both under it. It sort of backfired on him after he casted it but I'm the one most affected. If any girl falls in love with me they too are cursed and fallen into depression before throwing themselves off Widow's Cliff."

"Do you consider him evil?"

"Not really… We used to be best friends without our mothers knowing since they hate each other but we were able to keep it quiet for quite some time. He always used to be the better looking but I was always kinder to everyone since he is a huge hothead. When his mother challenged my mom he turned his back to me and called me a dirty friend before shoving me into the mud and screaming that he was going to kill me. After the duel his mother won and then Sebastian and I dueled and he won by a landslide before cursing both of us and vowing that I'll die a lonely man."

"Why don't you blame him?"

"Because… I believe his mother's lover is behind it."

"Lover?! I didn't see him at the ball…"

"That's because he only shows up when evil is lurking around. He's a sorcerer like Sebastian and I but he's far more powerful than us. He would've change Sebastian and turned him evil because my mother rejected his proposal a long time ago."

"Well… Sebastian is very kind and he meant everything he said to me." Alice said looking down at her hands.

"Of course he would! He finally fell in love with someone!"

"Then why would he poison me?"

"To keep you there. He knew damn well if Hatter was sticking around that you two planed to escape one day. He must really love you…"

"I…-"

"I get it, you like him too. A lot of girls don't like him much because of his mother but you're different. Look… if you want to run go ahead."

"I'm not running. If what I hear is true… one of you will die when the full moon appears."

"That's right."

"So we'll just need to find a way to break the curse."

"We'll need Sebastian here to help though."

"That means we'll have to convince the others somehow…" Alice said pondering on the thought. She got up and started to pace around the fountain as she thought about plans. If Sebastian and Aaron could just put aside their differences and work together like their dads did and defeat this curse that binds them together then they'll never have to deal with each other again. The problem was… she was the problem. Both of them loved her and clearly Aaron knows about her feelings towards Sebastian was a little bit stronger than her feelings toward Aaron.

"Goderella!" Alice shouted before rushing back into the palace to find Goderella polishing silverware in the dining room.

"Alice?"

"Goderella I need your help!" Alice said grabbing a parchment, ink bottle and feather pen before jotting down on the paper.

"What the hell are you doing?" Aaron said out of breath as he took a seat next to Goderella.

"I need you to deliver this message to Sebastian as fast as you can." Alice said rolling up the parchment and handing it to Goderella.

"I… I can't go back there! The Queen will have my head!" Goderella said before crying.

"No it's okay! Look it's almost noon… Sebastian would be where?"

"… the library…"

"Okay! The Queen will be in the throne room going over that new garden plan so all you need to do is sneak into the library and give it to him."

"But… Why do you want me to deliver this?"

"If we work together then maybe we can break this curse on us. It'll be hard but I guess he'll act differently with Alice around." Aaron said. Goderella took the parchment from Alice wiping away her tears.

"How do I get there?" Goderella said.

"… I'll take you. Just tell me where the library is." Aaron said before the two of them left Alice in the dining hall to fight with her own thoughts.

"_I'm broken…"_

* * *

Sebastian was wallowing now in the library since his mother finally kicked him out of the throne room. From a distance he heard Mary Beth reading a book watching him closely to see if he would jump from the window that was wide open.

"Why? Why would Hatter take her when he should know this isn't my damn fault. That stupid Aaron put it on himself after all!" Sebastian said throwing a book against a wall. He laid his face on the table that was already wet with his tears. He never cried this much before so why over such a measly girl? There were other Alice type girls in Wonderland so why was he mopping around?

"Mary Beth… Where is that book of available girls in Wonderland?" Sebastian said not picking his head off the table. She tossed him the book and he slowly picked himself up and looked through it. The book was filled with girls with blonde hair and curls.

"You're only mopping around cause she's the first girl you actually cared for huh?" Mary Beth said putting her book away.

"I guess…"

"Is it that or is because she's the first girl you slept with?"

"DON'T ANNOUNCE IT TO THE WHOLE WORLD YOU KNOW!" Sebastian screamed flipping the page and looking right at Alice's face. He was about to rip out her profile when the wind picked up.

"I wouldn't do that you know… That is a library book you know and you know ripping a page out is like ripping it's skin off." Someone said. Sebastian looked out the window to see a bright blue eyes looking right at him.

"Message for you sir!" A little elf girl said on Aaron's shoulder.

"The hell?" Sebastian said. He looked down and saw Aaron was riding a small but ride able white dragon. He grabbed the note from Goderella and carefully read it, his heart skipping beats.

"Something wrong?" Mary Beth asked walking over, reading the note over Sebastian's shoulder.

"So… We can break this curse by defeating Ragnarok?" Sebastian asked.

"That's his name…? Well it's a stupid name if you ask me." Aaron said rolling his eyes.

"But… why does Alice want me to come back? She's the one who left me-" Goderella slapped Sebastian across the face before he could finish his sentence.

"Look you! We all know how much you love her and don't you dare deny it!" Goderella snapped.

"She left me!" Sebastian snarled tossing the paper onto the desk.

"Hatter was protecting her from you! He thought it was you behind this whole plan!"

"It doesn't matter anymore. If she takes that bum over me than she'll take Sugar prince over me as well." Sebastian said. This time Mary Beth slammed him onto the desk and onto the floor, shaking him.

"Was… Was he here?" Aaron asked Mary Beth.

"He's downstairs with the Queen."

"IS SEBASTIAN BROKEN?!" Goderella shrieked before jumping down from the ledge and started slapping Sebastian silly. "WAKE UP SEBASTIAN! WAKE UP!"

"Goderella if you keep slapping him he'll never recover." Aaron said.

"Hm… The problem is… The Queen doesn't know anything about Ragnarok's plan or what he did to Sebastian. If anything she's in danger too right?" Mary Beth asked.

"Could be but honestly it doesn't matter… Did Ragnarok touch anything Sebastian ate or drink?"

"Well I gave him wine awhile ago and he was perfectly fine up until now…"

"Has he been moody or depressed or have trouble walking?" Aaron asked.

"Well... I don't know... maybe Hatter RUINED HIS DREAMS AND TOOK HIS FIANCE AWAY!"

"He fixed them. I have antidote back at the palace but you two need to find your own way out." Aaron said completely ignoring Mary Beth's remark.

"Use the fire dragon!" Goderella said as she sat by Sebastian's face. Sebastian woke up rubbing his head before pushing Goderella away.

"Just let me die alone." Sebastian murmured.

"Please if I wanted that I would've never shown up." Aaron said before helping Goderella back onto his shoulder.

"We better hurry. Ragnarok and your mother will be heading down to the gardens in a little bit." Mary Beth said checking her watch. It was a quarter to three and by the time they reach the tower where Sebastian's pet dragon was it'll be three and the Queen would take her usual stroll in the gardens where they'll be able to see them escape. Mary Beth and Sebastian quickly sneaked past Ragnarok's guards in front of the throne room doors and headed down the stairs using the ballroom as a shortcut. When they finally made it up to the towers it was five minutes before three. Sebastian unlocked the dragon's door and pushed himself inside, carrying a bucket of dead rats.

"Hey girl I got you something to eat…" Sebastian said petting the beautiful orange and yellow dragon. She huffed a few time before grabbing the rat from Sebastian and chomping down on it happily.

"We're going on a ride alright? I want you to meet someone ok?" Sebastian said opening the window. The dragon stretched her wings and blew out a smoke ring through the window before letting Sebastian and Mary Beth onto her back.

"It's three o' five, Sebastian!" Mary Beth said before she quickly screamed as the dragon took out through the window and into the skies.

"HAHA I'M FLYING! WHOO!" Sebastian shouted as they met up with Aaron and Goderella and rode towards the horizon.

* * *

Alice sat on the grand hall staircase watching Hatter pace back and forth. The White Queen was busy knitting a white and silver blanket for Alice not paying any attention to Hatter while March Hare was muttering to himself about the world ending once again.

"This doesn't seem like Aaron at all! Why would he befriend Sebastian of all people?!" Hatter said looking over at Alice.

"Because none of this is his fault… Someone else is behind it. If Sebastian was all what you thought he would've killed you the moment he saw you. Instead, he kept you alive AND let you escape with me." Alice said leaning in as her stomach protested for food.

"She has a point you know… Sebastian would've killed you." The White Queen said. Hatter paced again and they heard a ripple like a flapping of a wing and Hatter quickly opened the doors to see Aaron helping Goderella down from his shoulder as he got off his dragon.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?!" Hatter screamed at him once he saw Sebastian and Mary Beth flying down and next to Aaron. Alice rushed outside and saw Sebastian petting his dragon before looking up at her.

"SEBASTIAN!" Alice cried before rushing towards him and giving him a hug. Mary Beth laughed until tears fell from her face when Sebastian's face turned a deep red.

"Pleasant seeing you too, Alice." Sebastian said unsure what to do and just patting her back. She let go of him and turned to Mary Beth.

"I'm Alice. I never seen you before… Are you his friend?" Alice asked.

"No… His bodyguard more like it." Mary Beth said shaking Alice's hand.

"Alice! How dare you betray me!"Hatter said once she grabbed Sebastian's hand.

"Mad Hatter! Leave the girl be. She's happy and you always complained that you wanted her to smile!" The White Queen said poking him with her needle.

"Mother! Mother this curse I'm under is not his fault!" Aaron said holding his mother's hand.

"WHAT?!" March Hare said.

"It's true… The Red Queen's boyfriend is behind it." Goderella said.

"That ugly dude with a scar on his face?" Hatter asked.

"Yes…"

"But everyone saw you cast it!" The White Queen said to Sebastian.

"It's true… I did cast it but he told me to do it and said all these bunch of things about Aaron trying to kill me so it was a way to protect myself from him. I would never in a million years kill my friend… but Ragnarok told me differently."

"What happened, Sebastian?" Alice asked. Sebastian took a deep breath and looked at everyone. Hatter, the Queen, March Hare, the Twins, Mary Beth, Aaron, Goderella, Godfred, and Alice all stared at him waiting for his answer when he took off his gloves and shoved them into his pocket.

"It all happened four years ago…"


	8. Ragnarok, Alice!

_~Author's Note~_

_Hey everyone! Sorry about the wait but school you know… Alright so I recently had to work on this huge project for one of my classes where we had to make a movie based on the Hunger Games book and my group created the Triforce games (Nerdy I know) but I finally had the chance to write out the first few chapters for the book that's based on the "movie" (Alright more like movie project). If you have the time please, please, PLEASE at least look over it and give advice. This project is for a huge grade and the group worked really hard on it. THANK YOU!_

_P.S. _

_Alice and the Keeper of Hearts fans have been asking me for a "soundtrack" for the story and I finally put together one for you guys! Check out the fan site for the update soon! _

_Chapter 8_

_Ragnarok, Alice!_

"After my father died, my mother wanted to avenge his death by killing her own sister. She hired Ragnarok to kill her sister and in return would give him gold and six gold dragons. He accepted the offer but no one knew the White King was too a sorcerer and put a protective charm on his family before he left for war. Since he was unable to kill the Queen he returned to the Queen and said he was unable to fulfill his task. Instead of my mother killing him she fell in love with him and asked to stick around but he declined. You see… I didn't know Ragnarok very well and to me he seemed nice. He was always giving me books on magic or helping me cast spells better but now that I think about it… he might've been using me. When I turned twelve he returned to my mom's side and said to challenge her sister to a battle and we could curse her son after she loses. I was still Aaron's friend at the time but I didn't dare tell him about Ragnarok's plan."

"Why not?" Aaron asked interrupting Sebastian.

"… I thought I could defeat him by myself. I knew a few curses and I wanted to prove to my mom I was like my father, a king." Sebastian replied. "Before I could even curse him I started getting love letters from this one girl I never heard of before. She was always writing about her dreams and finding true love. I never wrote back because I didn't know who this person was. She always signed the letters as B and I never knew a girl with their first name starting with a B. After receiving a few more over the months, Ragnarok found one and said this girl was merely playing with my heart and wanted me to fall in love with no one since this girl was just Aaron messing with me."

"I would never do that to you! You were my best friend!"

"Hush! I like this story." Alice said sitting on the steps next to Sebastian.

"Anyway I started to get this feeling that Aaron was betraying me. The girls were all over him and the ones that liked me I never paid attention to because I was falling in love with B. One day during dinner my mother was looking through old documents from when my father was around and she found an old trial case that she was a part of when Alice was here for the first time. "

"I remember that! Alice was only eight or nine at the time…" Hatter said.

"I was interested in Alice when my mother was explaining her. She was two years younger than me and I was fifteen at the time so Ragnarok was asking my mom loads of questions like what happened and where she came from and soon Ragnarok was researching all the time. He was trying to find a way to tap into memories so Alice could dream about visiting Wonderland again. I had no idea that the second part of the plan was to kill the White Queen and Aaron and Alice staying here forever and end up marrying me but he wanted to rule bigger places and where Alice was from… it must be a bigger world."

"So Ragnarok was going to end up using Alice to kill us and take over her world?" The White Queen asked.

"Exactly."

"Then how did you learn how to tap into memories since he didn't know how to?" Hatter asked.

"It was a natural gift."

"Can you all stop interrupting him?" Alice asked.

"ANYWAY, Ragnarok was always telling me that one day Alice would return to Wonderland and we'll get married and have a happy ending but the only Aaron was in the way."

"WAIT! Sebastian… I met this Ragnarok guy before… He called himself Mason!" Hatter exclaimed.

"Was he the guy with long silver hair at the ball?" Alice asked. Sebastian nodded his head. "He told everyone his name was Mason and he was the Queen's fiancé."

"IT'S ALL A LIE!" Mary Beth said. They all looked at her confused. She sighed: "Look… That guy is really named Ragnarok but he ran away from his real home when he was a teenager. He changed his name and found a few spells to change his appearance so his parents will never find him… He ran away because he was the one who murdered the king and queen after his group of followers overran the castle."

"Wait… what?"

"Mary Beth how do you know this?" Alice asked. Mary Beth pulled out an old page that looked like a newspaper and handed it to her.

"King and Queen murdered after a group storms their castle. As witness recall it, a group called the Seven Sins overran the palace to the kingdom of Spades and killed the King and Queen. As one maid responds: "A young man with red hair and green eyes was in charge of the group, bellowing orders and the one who sliced the neck of our beloved Queen. Since I was hiding in the secret passage I could only see red and hear a howling laugh coming from the red head after both of them were dead. They left just like they came, cause more chaos in the hallways and left the palace and even the village altogether." In total the royal couple, seventy royal officers and many soldiers lost their lives in this slaughter. The group consisted of witches and sorcerers and only contained about twenty in total." Alice read from the newspaper.

"That's not even half of the story. When I was looking through old papers and whatnot, I saw Ragnarok appear again as the Queen's beloved lover. Supposedly the two of them were in love behind the king's back and were planning on running away until the king put a stop to it and Ragnarok killed himself to escape prison."

"DOES THIS MEAN HE'S A GHOST?" Goderella screamed.

"No it means he faked his own death, crazy." Godfred said.

"Now I understand… oh goodness… my poor sister is in love with the wrong man."

"Get a hold of yourself, My Queen. You hate your sister." Hatter muttered.

"The only thing left I can say… Ragnarok ran away and joined my mother's side because she told him of riches and her own son in training of becoming a sorcerer. Oh god… This is all my fault."

"It can't be your fault! Alright what we need to do is find a way to break this curse first." Alice said standing up and pacing in front of the steps.

"The only way to break it is for one of us to die…" Aaron muttered.

"WRONG! There is always a loophole in magic." Alice said giving Aaron a nasty glare.

"WHAT'S THE POINT!" Aaron stood up. "IF THIS ASSHOLE DIDN'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING THIS RAGNAROK GUY SAID NONE OF THIS WOULD HAPPEN! BECAUSE OF HIM MY LIFE IS RUINED." Aaron screamed pointing his finger at Sebastian.

"My fault? Maybe if you weren't such a goody two shoes during school I wouldn't have to believe his lies! To me he was telling the truth because it seemed legit!" Sebastian shouted back.

"Oh so you would rather believe a stranger than your own best friend?!"

"Well at that time you were being an ass to me! Everyone loved you! Not me!"

"Well maybe if you weren't acting so cold to everyone people would be friends with you!"

"Cold? I was never cold to anyone! Everyone hated me because of where I came from! I grew up with only you as a friend and look at me now. People fear me but they obey me. You… no one paid any mind to because they're afraid the curse will kill them!"

"So what? Did you get what you want?" Aaron said coldly. Alice looked over at Sebastian whose hands were shaking from anger and suddenly he sat on the ground and started to cry.

"NO! I never wanted any of this…"

"Well it's too late now! Your actions put both of us on death row and now you're going to fix this. ALL OF THIS."

"Stop it Aaron!" Alice said.

"He's right…" Sebastian whispered. They looked and stared at him as Sebastian sat there looking at his feet. "I'm hopeless without magic you know… if you threw me in the forest without and potions or my gloves I'll be dead within an hour."

"Gloves…?" Godfred asked.

"Main source of power…" Goderella said.

"I got an idea!" Godfred said getting up. "Okay… so Sebastian… your main source of power is your gloves right? Aaron yours is…-"

"This." Aaron pulled out a dark blue pendent hidden underneath his jacket and showed everyone.

"So… what is Ragnarok's power is encased in something like what you two have…?" Godfred asked.

"It would make sense. He carries this pocket watch all the time and yells at anyone who touches it… wait…" Mary Beth said before hitting herself.

"POCKET WATCH!" Everyone said.

"Alright! My queen… you must challenge your sister to a duel." Hatter said tipping his hat to her.

"OH DEAR NO! I couldn't let my sister get involved in this!" The Queen said.

"She's already involved with letting him into Wonderland." Sebastian said rolling his eyes.

"Look… all we need to do is challenge the Red Queen and say the sons need to duel. Ragnarok is sure to show up and watch Sebastian work his magic so while he's occupied I'll grab his watch and we'll destroy it and see what happens!" Godfred said.

"But… Sebastian was the one who pulled off the curse… Shouldn't we destroy his gloves too…?" Hatter asked.

"HEY WE'RE NOT DESTROYING MY GLOVES!"

"We might have to… I just don't feel like this is the answer though…" Alice pondered.

"Well… we should come up with other plans just in case tomorrow morning." The White Queen said looking out towards the horizon as the sun was setting. The group followed the Queen inside and ate dinner, laughing at Sebastian's complaints of drinking sparkling water instead of wine. The laughter even brought Aaron a few smiles as he stared at his plate the whole time thinking of plots against Ragnarok…

"_He's the key… the key to breaking the curse… If anything I have to kill himself myself but it's against my mother's code…" _Aaron thought as he moved his cauliflower from one of his plate to the next with his fork. Once dinner was finished he got up from the table and took a brief walk outside in the gardens hearing the sounds of the wind hitting the white rose bushes and the hums of crickets in the grass.

"If only I could learn more about him… maybe find a weakness I could use against him…" Aaron thought out loud.

"See? The garden is beautiful isn't it?!" Aaron heard Alice's voice and turned to see her walking with Sebastian near the fountain.

"It's smaller than the one my mom created… but it's prettier." Sebastian replied giving Alice his coat. Aaron turned around and sighed.

"Looks like someone is lonely." Mary Beth said causing Aaron to jump a little. She sat down next to him and looked up at the stars.

"It's just… my mother said I was going to marry Alice… but… it seems all wrong." Aaron said.

"Well of course it is wrong." Mary Beth said. Aaron looked over at her and she laughed. "You may not notice it but those two are strangely connected. He's a lost boy who dreamed of being loved and she's a girl who dreamed of the oddest things but she wants a life of adventure. They're perfect for each other."

"I guess…"

"Look… You're a nice guy, Aaron. Someone will come around for you soon. They're always another day to follow the night."

"Maybe… maybe I did find someone… it seems strange but life is pulling me close to her no matter what I think." Aaron said. Mary Beth moved on the bench and turned to see Alice and Sebastian hugging each other as if they'll never see each other again…

"Maybe… I did too… Maybe I did too…" Mary Beth said placing a hand on Aaron's arm. The two looked up at the sky as thousands of stars glittered and twinkled above them. From the fountain, Alice stood on her toes kissing Sebastian and hoping he would never pull away.


	9. Absolem, Alice!

_Chapter 9 _

_Absolem, Alice! _

_Where am I? _

_Who am I? _

_What am I doing here? _

_How did I get here?_

_Is this my home?_

_A flash of light brought Alice to a small area where a waterfall that glittered in the sun. Near the waterfall she saw a figure wearing a black hat with a black piece of fabric wrapped around it and falling down his back like Hatter's hat. Alice rushed towards him reaching a hand out hoping for him to reach out. His face was hidden but she could see silver hair rippling around his tail coat. An evil smile appeared on his face and he tipped his hat back to revel piercing green eyes and red lips curled and gleaming. He was holding gloves… Sebastian's gloves… _

"_Sorry dearie." The man said and also held up a silver colored orb. Alice let out a scream and the sky shattered above them and blood poured down the waterfall as Alice feel to the ground crying. _

"_They screamed mercy but I wouldn't be evil if I didn't spare them so their screams were only my entertainment." _

"_WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Alice screamed clutching Sebastian's gloves after the man tossed them in front of her. _

"_Why dearie… I took over Wonderland."_

* * *

Alice woke with a start clutching the blankets around her. Looking at her in the doorway was Hatter, his face pale.

"… We heard you screaming… Bad dream?" Hatter asked.

"Yeah… What time is it?" Alice asked.

"Almost nine." Alice quickly got out of bed and threw on clothes and shoes before following Hatter downstairs for a bagel and orange juice.

"So what I just go home and spy on him is what you're saying?" Sebastian asked pointing his fork at Aaron who was busy reading a book.

"I don't think it'll be safe for Sebastian to return home… after all… I'm sure if Ragnarok is still there he probably has suspicions about you disappearing all of a sudden." Mary Beth said.

"I'll just say I went out looking for Alice."

"It wouldn't work! He'll see right through you." Mary Beth snapped at him.

"Why not? It's a good way of getting him killed and out of my sight." Aaron sighed setting the book aside.

"You just want be dead so you'll marry Alice. I'm not THAT stupid, you know."

"Morning Alice!" Mary Beth chirped over the bickering Princes. Alice yawned as hello and took a seat next to Aaron and stared at his book.

"What's that about?" Alice asked looking at the cover that had an unusual picture of a man getting eaten by a giant plant.

"Creatures in Wonderland. Many of them are hidden in the forest but I'm positive one of these things can help us." Aaron said.

"… Did you look for magical creatures?"

"All of them… It's about a day's journey to Lake Witonka where a bunch of fairy tribes might be able to help."

Alice looked through the colorful pages while eating a piece of toast. Pictures of rabid mice, rabbits and dogs were in the section of mindless while plants of all kinds were label cannibalisms. The thought of stepping across any of these creatures scared Alice. Just the thought of getting caught in the same path as hers would give her nightmares. She closed the book and gave it back to Aaron hoping her stomach could take in more food after seeing those horrifying pictures.

"I still think we should ask the Symphix for help." Sebastian said pushing his eggs from side of the plate to the other.

"Yeah she can… but you need to solve her riddle first and believe me the only man I know who ever solved it was Hatter himself." Aaron said. Everyone looked at Hatter who was busy with Cheshire fixing his hat that seemed to have had a missing button somewhere.

"What was the riddle, Hatter?" Alice asked. Hatter looked up.

"The Symphix's riddle… what is it?" Aaron asked.

"It can be seen by the naked eye, and yet it weighs literally absolutely nothing. It can be any shape or size, and if you put it in something.. whatever you put it in actually becomes lighter. What is it?"

The room was silent and waited for his response. "Well everyone don't shout at once but it's a hole."

"Can the Symphix help us defeat Ragnarok?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Hatter shouted banging his fists onto the table causing everyone to jump. "Always wanted to do that but look it here… the Symphix is not a Symphix unless a riddle could be made thus creating a Symphix. No matter the riddle the Symphix cannot tell a lie but cannot tell the truth either. The Symohix is merely a illusion in your head and thus creating one person mad to create another Symphix."

"Now I know why you're called MAD Hatter." Sebastian said rubbing his head.

"Then hear me this, Sebastian. Why is a Raven like a Writing Desk?" Hatter asked.

"I haven't had the slightest idea." Sebastian moaned.

"Well then a Symphix will make a meal out of you." Hatter laughed.

"They… _eat_ you if you get the riddle wrong?" Aaron asked.

"Well of course! They're in the same category as Venus Flytraps."

"This place is getting scarier each day." Alice muttered.

"Never fear. The man eating animals and plants never come out unless you go up far north where they live. They live near the desert." Hatter said placing his feet on the table as he fixed his pocket watch."

"What were you doing up in the desert when you meet the Symphix?" Sebastian asked curiously. Hatter kicked his feet off the table and stood up grabbing his hat.

"That I won't answer until you answer my riddle." Hatter said throwing his hat on and left the room.

"Well… do we know anyone else who can give advice?" Sebastian asked.

"What about that caterpillar I met the first time I was here…? He smokes all the time…" Alice suggested.

* * *

"Absolem?" Aaron shouted as Alice, Mary Beth and Sebastian trailed him as they walked through the forest.

"The map says he should be right here!" Sebastian said angrily looking at the map.

"Forget about the map!" Aaron screeched and ripped up the map Sebastian was holding.

"How rude."

"Stop fighting!" Mary Beth hissed and pulled apart two branches and waved over the three of them excitedly. They looked through and saw a small blue caterpillar wearing one eye glass on his right eye as he sat there blowing smoke rings.

"Absolem?" Aaron asked. The caterpillar never looked up at him as he twirled a ring around his tiny "finger"

"Whooooo areeee youuuu?" The caterpillar asked.

"I'm Aaron, The White Prince."

"No… whoooo areeee youuuu?" The caterpillar asked sharply. "I never said giveeee a nameee."

"I'm a sorcerer and was given the gift of light from the Goddesses. I'm cursed, lost and looking for advice."

"Muchhh betterrr, now whooo areee theyyy?"

"I'm Sebastian, the Red Prince. Uh… I'm a sorcerer as well, I was given the gift of bravery and beauty, I too am lost and cursed."

"My name is Mary Beth, I'm a palace guard at the Red Castle and…"

"Annnddd?" Absolem asked looking over at Mary Beth. "And… I feel alone in the world."

"You're Alice I presume hmmmm….?" Absolem asked.

"Why yes…"

"Can't be."

"ABSOLEM! Clearly she's Alice!"

"Not the one I know… The one I know is fearless and smart. You're clearly dumb and full of fear."

"How dare you say that about her!" Sebastian spat at her. Absolem puffed a smoke ring into his face and turned away from them.

"What you seek is Ragnarok's main source of powweeerrr. I cannot tell you what it is until you prove to me whooo youuuu areee." Absolem sighed puffing smoke into Alice's face causing her to choke. "Now go on home before the night creatures show up for sooommmmeeee dinner."

"Don't you have the prophecy with you?" Aaron asked. Absolem looked over at him and gave a small grin.

"Look at the mushroom…" Absolem replied coolly. Aaron peered at the mushroom Absolem was sitting on which was about half the size of Alice. She peered and notice the spots were small words or pictures.  
"_One is the key to defeat thee." _Aaron read as he read left to right on one side.

"_The sun and moon must agree on thee." _Sebastian said looking at the other side.

"_Full will be the moon and shine on thee." _Mary Beth read.

"_I will open the key in threes." _Alice said and stood up.

"Four riddles…" Absolem said uninterested in his guests.

"None of them make sense… Defeat what and what key?" Sebastian groaned.

"The moon will be full in four days time. Spend too much time and you'll ruuunnn out of time. Spend too little and you'll looosssseeee." Absolem said before crawling down the mushroom and vanishing into the ground.

"He's right… We don't have much time and we still need to find Ragnarok's weakness." Aaron said.

"Alice needs to find herself or the one Absolem is looking for…" Mary Beth said. Sebastian put an arm around Alice.

"You're brave to me. You did poison me so you could escape." Sebastian whispered into Alice's ear.

"We better get back. The sun is setting and the creepy plants will show up soon." Aaron said and the group headed back to the castle.

* * *

Alice went to bed she looked out at Wonderland from her balcony. Hatter sneaked into her room and stood next to her.

"That dream was about Aaron and Sebastian losing." Alice said.

"You think it's a sign?" Hatter asked.

"Do you think the sky would shatter and waterfalls will spill blood?"

"With Ragnarok as ruler… anything could happen."

"Something about that hat of his… It looked like yours almost." Alice said. Hatter's hands froze on the railing as he heard this.

"What color was it?" Hatter asked.

"All black."

Hatter tipped his head back and sighed. "Let me guess… long silver hair and green eyes?" Alice nodded. "That's the guy I sold a hat to in the desert. I was up there delivering it to him. When he visit my shop many years ago he liked my hat and wanted one just like it except in pure black but with the same designs on here with black velvet. I couldn't say no since he paid me tons of money but I put all of my energy into making that hat and his smile sparkled when I gave it to him."

"Do you think…?"

"Oh yeah I know it."

"Ragnarok." The both of them said, the name being carried into the wind.


	10. The Book, Alice!

_Chapter 10_

_The Book, Alice!_

Ragnarok was busy twirling his hat and reading the latest newspaper when the Queen of Hearts knocked on his door.

"Are you busy?" The Queen asked opening the door slightly.

"Not at all dearie. What seems to be the trouble?" Ragnarok asked setting the hat on the table.

"Sebastian still hasn't come home yet… Mary Beth either… Do you think something has happened to them?"

"Dearie… They might be searching for Alice."

"THAT HATTER KIDNAPPED HER! HE MUST'VE TOOK MY BABY AND MARY BETH TO KILL THEM!" The Queen screamed tossing books and papers aside. Ragnarok opened the paper once again blocking out the Queen cries of her missing son. He was reading a very interesting article about tree gators when his attention turned towards the page with the headlines screaming: "**Sorcerer Still on the Run. Is He Hiding in Wonderland?**" He ripped the paper to pieces causing the Queen to turn and look at him strangely.

"There was an article about someone burning cats for fun. Bastards should be beheaded for pulling an act like that."

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" The Queen shouted at him.

"Yes, Yes dearie. I'm sure Hatter did not kill them. It's against his nature to kill and besides Sebastian is much stronger than Aaron and the others. He'll just kill them all and bring Alice back home."

"That's not the point! He's only strong with magic! Without it he's nothing but weak!"

"Dearie… That boy has more muscle then a dragon lifter. He'll be fine."

"I wish I could tell that blasted sister of mine to hand him over. My poor sweetie out there… with that horrible Hatter and his band of lunatics."

Ragnarok was getting tired of her complaining. Hatter the man who sold him his hat was indeed a threat to his plans. He was powerful yes, but he had many sources and was witty. He had to take extra precautions and avoid the Hatter at all costs. He was planning to taking over both the Queen of Hearts and her sister's castles. It was a simple plan that burned down in flames after Hatter's dashing move of taking Alice back to the White Castle. His next move was to kill the White Queen at the battle arena but again that Alice girl was in the way. If either Queens were murdered both sons would hunt him down and kill him. He was tired of Sebastian's love sick games of trying to make Alice say yes to him. Ragnarok walked over to his cupboard of potions and pulled out a small black vile and slowly tipped the mixture on the table. Images appeared in the puddle of the colorful substance. Sebastian appeared with Alice in tow as they saw them reading books on spells and magic theories.

"SEBASTIAN?!" The Queen shrieked.

"Alright in order to defeat him we need to learn a bunch of new spells. Defensive spells are best since we all know he likes controlling the mind. It's best we get the best sorcerers in the land up here for training." Sebastian said, his voice sounding far off. The Queen made a crying sniff as Ragnarok watched, his eyes burning in hate and evil. He turned his attention towards Alice. She was watching Sebastian perform little spells and smiling when he made water appear from his fingertips. She was the little human girl that Sebastian was madly in love with… He could tell she felt the same way about him.

"_Love is the most powerful spell in the book. If those two stick together and use the power against me I'll be doomed. I need to separate those two…" _Ragnarok thought to himself as he picked up a book on powerful spells. He flipped through the pages carefully looking for something that could help him until his heart skipped a beat and he stared at the one spell that could make one hell of a powerful army.

"You're going to use magic to bring them back?" The Queen asked looking over his shoulder.

"Dearie… I'm going to help you win back Wonderland, your son and your daughter in law using only one spell. Your sister won't stand a chance against me this time." Ragnarok said his smile glittering.

* * *

He waited until the Queen was fast asleep before sneaking out and borrowing one the horses. He rode swiftly to the desert area where the moon shined brightly on the sand.

"Who goes there?" Someone shouted as Ragnarok stepped onto the cool sand.

"I have a deal to make, Nicolas." Ragnarok said pulling out his wand. A man with long black hair and matching beard appeared from the shadows as Ragnarok walked closer to him.

"A deal? I have no intention of making a deal with you."

"Ah but this time you should reconsider. You see… If we win you'll be getting something in return."

"What would I be getting?"

"Have you ever wanted this book, Nicolas?" Ragnarok asked pulling out a book from his cloak. It was a leather bound book with gold pages but looked hundreds of years old since the leather was cracked and falling apart. Nicolas's eyes glittered in greed and pain as he looked at the book. Ragnarok smirked and put the book back into his cloak.

"What do you want, Ragnarok?" Nicolas asked throwing his hands into his pockets.

"I need you to kidnap someone for me."

"That seems soft hearted for a person like you."

"Well this one is just getting in the way of my plans but she has no idea of it."

"Is it that Alice girl?"

"Exactly. With her out the way we can kill both princes easily. Just bring her back to where ever it is she came from. If you do that… you can have the book."

"But… Sebastian and Aaron are protecting her with their lives… How am I supposed to get past them?"

"With this." Ragnarok said and handed Nicolas a small velvet bag. The bag made small hissing sounds and Nicolas whimpered. Vector snakes were inside the bag; the most dangerous and smallest snakes in Wonderland. "Sneak into the White Palace and release the snakes. While they're distracted you kidnap Alice and bring her to the garden. I'll have someone meet you there to help. If you even screw up once, Nicolas… I'll have your head AND I'll burn this book."

"NO PLEASE I BEG YOU!"

"I wonder what would happen when you're wife hears I burned the only thing keeping you living the immortal life…"

"PLEASE I'LL DO IT! Just don't burn that book!" Nicolas begged getting down on his knees and crying softly.

"Good. That's all settled. Oh, I must warn you. The Vector Snakes are my pets. What they can see is what I can see also. If you happen to run or disobey me I'll have this book in the nearest fireplace before you know it. Well time is a wasting and I need my beauty sleep for tomorrow. Don't screw this up, Nicolas." Ragnarok said and got back on his horse. He rode off away from Nicolas and grinned. His plan was in full effect and that girl would be out of his hair by tomorrow evening. He pulled the brim of his hat down to cover his eyes from the wind as he laughed ferociously his voice carrying with the wind. Nicolas heard the laugh and cried softly the Vector Snakes hissing at his weakness. Nicolas was a friend of the White Queen… He needed to send warning to Godfred and Hatter as soon as possible and tell them of Ragnarok's threat towards him. His wife was in danger of dying… no… they both were.


	11. Fairy Hallow, Alice!

_Chapter 11_

_Fairy Hallow, Alice!_

"This place is so beautiful!" Alice said as Sebastian helped her down the rocky hill to a small glittering lake.

"It says if we listen carefully we can hear them singing." Aaron said walking around the edge of the lake.

"Why are we even trying to look for a fairy?" Mary Beth asked as she pulled out her foot from a pile of mud.

"They can see your true self and sing your prophecy. Since the high caterpillar wasn't much help maybe these guys can give us a clue." Aaron said closing the book he was reading and stuffed it into his bag. The four of them plus Godfred and Goderella left the castle early in the morning to travel to the mountains where lakes filled with Fairy tribes that lived in peace, helped keep the water clean and pure for the White Queen's villages. The Fairy festival was tonight according to Aaron since it was three days until the moon was full and both Queens would battle each other to see who would rule Wonderland. The fairies gladly took the White Queen's side over the Red Queen because the Red Queen used her fairy tribes as slaves and sometimes food for her beloved pets. If Aaron thought was true… the tribes would attack Sebastian if they saw he was pure evil on the inside. He knew his heart was pure black but… did a drop of gold enter after he met Alice and fell in love with her? Aaron shook his head. Alice and Sebastian were completely different from one another and showed no signs of a "cute" couple. They didn't talk much to each other when Aaron was around but at night he could hear them chatting on Sebastian's balcony. They talked about Earth… Sebastian wanted to go back to Earth with Alice once this was over and live there with her. Aaron wanted to live on Earth as well after he had those few precious hours up there with Hatter and Alice. It was beautiful, full of life and love and Alice had a family up there.

"I see one!" Goderella said pointing at a small blue fairy who was busy stacking twigs. Aaron approached it slowly and coughed. The little fairy turned and smiled, her dress a pretty light blue and her hair a matching blue.

"Prince Aaron! What brings you here?" The fairy squeaked. She flew up and looked at everyone else and glared at Sebastian. "What is HE doing here?"

"Now wait a second… He's not what you think."

"That's Prince Sebastian!" The fairy shouted.

"Yes… But he isn't here to kill you! He's on our side and wants to break the curse! Look… I'll explain everything to Priscilla if you take us to her." Aaron explained.

"Priscilla might be busy at the moment. You do realize what today is…-"

"I do but it's an emergency. The Red Queen's boyfriend is planning on not just Sebastian and I but both Queens, Hatter and anyone that gets in his way. We don't have much time and Alice here needs someone to read her prophecy…"

"Alice?!" Another fairy appeared he was wearing all yellow, even his hair was yellow as he flew over towards Alice and laughed. "Hey guys! The girl who painted the roses red is back!" A group of fairies appeared, each representing a different color flew out from trees, the lake and even the ground as they clapped and flew around Alice.

"Priscilla said you would return to marry Aaron!" The blue fairy said.

"Hush, Angelina." The yellow fairy said to her.

"Oh… I'm not marrying Aaron…" Alice said to them. They looked at her in shock and quickly started attacking Sebastian.

"HEY NOW STOP THAT!" Aaron shouted tossing them aside, away from Sebastian. "Now can we all please get along? Look… I know it's strange that Sebastian is joining our side-"

"Are you kidding? THAT BOY MURDERERD HUNDREDES OF FAIRIES!" The yellow fairy screamed.

"That wasn't me! That was Ragnarok! He used their wings and magic to create that curse!" Sebastian screamed at them. They looked at them, their faces cold.

"But you awoke the curse. None of us will forgive you." Angelina said.

"It… fine hate me or whatever but I want to help break this curse I awoke. Ragnarok is trying to take over Wonderland, not me, and he'll probably be here in a day to kill all of you. I know he might be low on magic and he must've already killed the fairy tribes by my palace but you have to trust me. I'm not here to kill any of you and I want to help because…" He looked over at Alice. "Someone told me they saw good in me… and if she sees that then I want others to see it too."

"Aww!" Goderella said leaning her head against Alice's head.

"Priscilla would be happy that you all came to visit and celebrate with us. I'm sure she's in the throne room now. Your height though…" The yellow fairy said before sprinkling fairy dust on the six of them. Sebastian grabbed Alice as they shrunk down to the size… of a fairy.

"You do realize we were already your size right?" Godfred said throwing his hands on his hips and glaring at the yellow fairy.

"It seems only fair, Godfred." The yellow fairy said sticking his tongue out at him. The group followed the group of fairies to a lit up tree where thousands of fairies were flying in and out carrying different foods, supplies and weapons. The fairies helped them by carrying up to a large hole on the tree that was covered in a small flag with the symbol of their tribe on the front.

"Alright stay here until the ceremony starts." Angelina told Alice before the group of fairies left them and shot out the room.

"Wow… They really are creative…" Mary Beth said before picking up Godfred.

"This must be the meeting hall or something…" Sebastian said still grasping on to Alice's hand. The room was lines up with rows upon rows of chairs looking at a long wooden table and chair that was wrapped in vines blooming pink flowers. They walked down the row and looked at the table. It had bowls of red liquid and several goblets. The bells above twinkled and chimed and groups of fairies flew in and took their seats. A few waved hellos at them introduced themselves. Angelina lined up six chairs next to the vine covered chair.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Take your seats please!" A small fat fairy said carrying a small trumpet. He was dressed in red and gold, his hair gold with a small touch of red on the top. Alice took a seat next to the vine covered chair, as late comers were taking seats in the back. The trumpet man counted the fairies before playing a tune on the trumpet.

"We have guests today. Please welcome Prince Aaron, Prince Sebastian, Alice, Mary Beth, Godfred and Goderella." The little fairy said. The fairies clapped and flew up to get a better look at them. "Now may I present… Queen Priscilla!" The room erupted in screams and applause as a tall elegant women dressed in all white walked through the double doors. Her hair was snow white like her dress but sparkled blue and silver as she walked forward.

"Welcome friends. You have joined us to celebrate our special celebration have you not?" Queen Priscilla asked lifting her wand.

"Actually your majesty… We came with grave news… and we would like to ask of you a favor." Aaron said standing up and bowing before her.

"Grave news? Our enemies are long gone thanks to you. Do not tell me the Red Queen is after us once again."

"No not her this time. Her boyfriend, Ragnarok is planning to take over Wonderland and my mother is calling for war but there is a riddle Absolem gave us that we need to decode but first… Alice has to find herself. We are asking a lot from you but we offer you protection from your enemies for many years to come." Aaron said lowering his head.

"Aaron… your family has for a long time been friends with our clan. We will raise our weapons and fight beside you. Sebastian I trust you too are here for something…?"

"Yes, my Queen. I would like you to forgive me and… read Alice and mine's prophecy."

"Prophecy? The prophecy said Alice was to marry Aaron after the fall of the Red Queen's family."

"It said that Alice will marry the prince her heart so desires." Aaron corrected her.

"You want to marry the Prince of Darkness, Alice?"

"I'm not a Prince of Darkness! I… I know I did wrong for so long but… I would do anything to keep Alice safe from Ragnarok. I don't know how to get you people to trust me but I know you look into people's souls Priscilla… Well look into mine and see I'm not lying and I really want to be good." Sebastian said puffing his chest out. Priscilla walked over to Sebastian and placed her gloved hand on his heart and closed her eyes. Alice stared as Sebastian's aura surrounded him in a blanket of red… and was that gold? The Queen's silver and white aura covered his and exploded into small glittering bits, vanishing into the air.

"Your past is dark… you did wrong on your path here. Your soul is slowly reverting to become gold like Aaron's but… it's fighting to keep black. I saw small amounts of gold in your area of magic and power but what truly amazes me is one part is pure gold." The Queen said.

"Love…" Aaron breathed.

"Your love for Alice." The Queen smiled. The fairies cheered and many flew over to shake his hand.

"SILENCE! I have much fear that this Ragnarok is strong… but love is stronger. You two must be kept together at all costs because I saw the future." Priscilla said her face becoming cold.

"Is it bad?" Aaron asked. Alice grabbed Sebastian's hand and then Mary Beth's hand as well.

"If you two are separated at any time in the next three days the spell will break and Sebastian's soul could crumble and lose every last drop of gold he has. Ragnarok will win and Wonderland will become his. If Sebastian's soul crumbles he'll die and the curse will be broken but Aaron you need him to complete the spell you are trying to complete. I know why you are really here. You're here to awaken the horse of light and take out Ragnarok's horse of darkness aren't you?"


	12. The First Part of Three, Alice!

_Chapter 12_

_The First Part of Three, Alice!_

"If you want to destroy the horse of darkness you need a much powerful spell then true love. It requires three parts and much practice. I only know of one part which lucky for you is the first one." The Queen replied as she twirled her wand in her hands.

"When were you planning to tell us about this stupid horse of darkness thing?" Sebastian yelled before Alice put a hand on his shoulder.

"I did not truly know about it until I started looking up powerful creatures that wizards would ally themselves with in exchange of blood or worse… life." Aaron replied to the group.

"The horse feeds on life years. Ragnarok set himself around humans so the horse could feed, every life he takes from you is another year you lose in life which means the horse is slowly killing you." The Queen explained.

"Can we see him?" Alice asked.

"Sadly no which is why us fairies have feared Ragnarok since the day he stepped into Wonderland. The only people who can see him are people truly as dark as Ragnarok. That is why I see light with Sebastian because he cannot see the horse."

"At one point I saw this shadowy figure behind him but that was just after the curse… It was light he was pure black but inside he had this golden ball of light." Sebastian described.

"That's the life year he took from someone. My guess is he's feeding off of the guards and elves in your palace. If you see people suddenly feel week or ill then most likely the horse has taken a life year away from them."

"So can we kill him right?" Mary Beth asked.

"No but we can break the ties Ragnarok created with him. If we break the ties the horse will return to the underworld where it belongs. Only once in my whole life has one sorcerer ever broken the ties of a wizard and darkness creature. Many times it has failed and the penalty was death but the Red King was able to break the bond one sorcerer shared with a dragon that feed on blood and fear."

"My father used the same spell?"

"Indeed. He was madly in love with your mother and as the story goes your mother was being forced to marry this sorcerer. She loved your father deeply and wanted to escape the arranged marriage but her father was killed by the sorcerer so the marriage couldn't be broken. Your father battled the same sorcerer and showed everyone the darkness dragon that kept the sorcerer strong and broke the ties. The sorcerer fled and your mother and father were married the same night."

"Well we need the first part in order to start looking for the other two." Aaron said impatiently.

"Ah yes! You two come forward and stand in front of me." The Queen said to Sebastian and Aaron. "The first part is giving you spiritual connections to the underworld. In order for you to break the ties you must know which part of the underworld the horse will return to so you can seal it from it ever returning to the mortal world again." She pressed her fingertips on Aaron's forehead first and closed her eyes. "I'm going to open the spiritual world for you. Once it's open you mustn't walk off the part do you understand? If you do your soul will be trapped and you'll never be able to open your eyes again and I can't save you. Once you reach your destination from what I hear someone will be there to say one word to you and you must remember it. That word is a spell that will open the certain underworld passage for the horse to flee to after the ties are broken." Aaron stood there like a statue as she took her fingertips off his forehead and moved over to Sebastian where she then again placed her fingertips on his forehead.

"You will do the exact same thing but the person you meet will tell you a word that is completely different from what Aaron will hear. That word is a spell that will not only close the passage but keep the horse locked in there forever." Sebastian was ice cold and before Alice could touch him the Queen tapped her hand. "One slight movement and he could lose his life. I also have directions for you all as well."

"But we're not sorcerers…" Mary Beth replied slowly. The Queen shook her head.

"Yes but since you three have to training in magic you all are in danger if the spell backfires or is even complete." The Queen said. Goderella sucked in air and whimpered. "It has happened a few times but if the creature is strong enough before it's taken down it could take someone with him."

"As in… take it back to the Underworld…" Alice said.

"Yes and I know those two would want you all to witness the fall of Ragnarok. You must control your auras to be strong enough from the horse attacking any of you. As soon as the ties are broken it will become free which makes him incredibly strong."

"How can we control our auras if we can't even perform a simple spell?" Godfred asked.

"Oh it is very simple. Your auras are most strong when you think of a memory that is very happy. The moment those ties are broken you must think of the happiest memory you can remember."

"A happy moment?" Alice asked. The Queen nodded. Alice didn't have a single happy moment that could ever make her aura strong enough to take on a creature of the dead. She lived her life in total darkness after her father died and the only time she could think of something a little bit happy was her dreams of Wonderland. Hatter… The dream where she went to his tea party and learned about him celebrating his "unbirthday" with all his friends. Was that a happy enough dream? Her thoughts were interrupted with the sound of Aaron breathing heavily and falling to the floor. The fairies gasped as the Queen knelt down and looked at him.

"Doluceina. That's the spell…"

"Ah… he comes from the dream part of the underworld. That is indeed a very gloomy place. Mostly every darkness creature roams there hungry for fear and whenever a person dies all their fear is taken there where the creatures fight for it. The leader there is in fact a fairy." Sebastian also unfroze and fell to the floor panting.

"Goulding."

"Remember those two spells boys. My work here is done."

"But what about Alice?" Goderella asked. Priscilla turned around and smiled at her. "I think she found herself without needing my help. If you would like to stay for the festival I would love you to be the guests of honors then." Aaron accepted the invitation and group stayed for most of the festival, dancing, eating and singing with the others. In truth Alice's mind was somewhere else. She knew the Queen lied to everyone and knew Alice did not find herself. Alice had no clue what she was or what role she played here in Wonderland besides the clumsy girl who happened to make the most handsomest prince fall in love with her. How could a girl with no talent, courage or grace make Sebastian, a powerful sorcerer who indeed had some flaws but was still a courageous knight fall in love with her? She had so many questions that weren't receiving answers brewing in her mind until she was finally answered with a massive headache. Maybe she didn't want to find herself… maybe finding herself could put not only Sebastian but everyone else is danger…

* * *

"Hatter did you ever find yourself?" Alice asked him as she stood in his doorway to his room. Hatter was on his balcony twirling his teacup and turned to face her.

"My dear… I'm as mad as a hatter. That is why I'm called the Mad Hatter." He tossed his hat to Alice and she looked inside it. Nothing seemed to be inside it until Alice reached in and pulled out the painting of a raven. "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Alice asked him. Hatter only smiled. "I haven't but the slightest idea."

Alice's question was answered. Hatter never found himself and most likely never will because to him life was a game and he was the pawn. As fate and time battled the game of chess his life was controlled and the game only ended when the other executed the king or Hatter. He did not choose sides but merely let the two argue for him until one would win and to Hatter it was many years ahead for him to even begin to worry about death.


	13. Just A Dream, Alice?

_Chapter 13_

_Just a Dream, Alice? _

_I was floating in a never ending ocean of black water, my body unable to move as the currents did the moving for me. I couldn't scream for help or the water will pull me down to shut me up. There wasn't a single bird in the sky or fish in the water, it was just me. The waves tossed me on shore and quickly I got up, ignoring the sand covering every inch of my skin. The skies turned a grayish black and ahead stood an estate where the house was painted black. I stepped inside for the door was open and looked around. Again I was alone but I knew I was being watched. The hallway's walls were filled with paintings of royal families, each proudly wearing the crowns both the Queens wear and the ones Sebastian and Aaron keep in their rooms. The final painting was the largest and stood at the very end of the hallway. In it was both the Queens, Aaron, Sebastian but on the Queen of Hearts' side stood a handsome man with long silver hair. Ragnarok. On Sebastian's side stood a girl with curly blond hair and in her hands was a white rabbit. Me? _

"_Of course dearie tis you of course!" The familiar voice cooed. He stepped out of the dark and flipped back his hat. His smile glittered and his eyes brought a shiver to me. I took a step back but he took a step forward. _

"_Why are you always invading my dreams? What do you want?" I asked him, my back pressing up against the wall. _

"_You see dearie… You are the real key to getting what I want. A few people are in my way and I'm gladly able to crush them down to get to you." _

"_What are you saying?" _

"_You are the type of girl I've always been looking for." His smile was brighter and his eyes grew a shade of springtime green. I couldn't believe it; I turned and ran down the hall. The paintings were getting smaller and the eyes of the past families were watching me fly past them. "You can't run, dearie! You're playing my game now and in my games I always win!" The rug from underneath me flew up and tripped me. Ragnarok grabbed me and pulled me up. "In Wonderland everyone's dreams is easy to get into. Why this is all a dream to you isn't it? Wonderland is all part of your imagination but you'll never be able to wake up because you're afraid of leaving behind your friends and Sebastian aren't you?"_

"_Stop just leave me alone?! Can't you see what you did is ruining Wonderland?"_

"_Ah but that is all part of the plan! I need this Wonderland to become nothing but a hopeless country that I can easily control." A black smoky cloud was appearing behind him. "With death to assist me I can destroy every bit of happiness and hope this little happy land has and I'll start with killing your little boyfriend and his new best friend." _

_He dropped me as the horse formed behind him. I took off in a run again only this time the paintings were bleeding and once again I was at the end of the hall. I looked at the painting and noticed both Sebastian and Aaron were missing, no, everyone but Ragnarok and I were missing and Ragnarok's horse was added standing a little behind Ragnarok. Turning around I saw the horse charging full speed at me. Quickly finding the doorknob behind me I turned it and fell onto the hard marble flooring, the door slamming in my face before the horse could even make a hoof in the room. The torches lit up and from behind I heard the clanging of chains. Standing up shakily I made my way into the room and saw Sebastian locked inside what looked like a birdcage, his body bruised and bloody everywhere and his foot chained to the floor of the cage. _

"_Sebastian!" I opened the door of the cage and quickly grabbed his face. His eyes… were pure black and cold. _

"_See, dearie? The little bit of what magic can do starts with turning a boy to pure evil. His soul was swallowed up by darkness and not even you can save him." Ragnarok said entering the cage. _

"_BRING HIM BACK!" I cried. _

"_Why? No one ever looked out for me, no one ever showed me real love. Why should he get the better treatment when he was once evil like I am today? He deserves every bit of it and not your love. I grew up with no love, no hope and no respect. The girl I fell in love with turned aside and married another man and I was left to wallow all by myself. Magic was the only friend I really had and look at me today! I'm stronger, smarter and more powerful than I ever was. People fear me and do whatever I want!" _

"_That isn't how you should want it to be. You can't use fear to make people do what you want. Why break what you can't have?" _

"_I can have anything I want and if it's already taken then I break the one who has it. What would you rather have the broken prince who had to poison you to make you fall in love with him or take me who won't use any magic or potion to win your heart over?"_

"_Sebastian. Sebastian may have lied to me and poison me but I didn't fall in love with him because of that. I fell in love with him because he's kindhearted and would do anything to take it all back. He wants to be good and work alongside Aaron and the others… to destroy you! So I choose Sebastian!"_

* * *

Alice's eyes flew open and she jumped out of bed quickly and burst through Sebastian's bedroom door to see he was still fast asleep. She looked at the grandfather clock and noticed it wasn't even two in the morning yet. She sighed a breath of relief and turned around to leave him to sleep when the floor made a large creaking sound. Sebastian woke with small snore and rubbed his eyes.

"Alice? What the hell why are you in my room… The hell it isn't even two yet!" Sebastian hissed. Alice quickly noted to herself that Sebastian was extremely crabby if you woke him up to early.

"I had a nightmare. I had to see if you were alright or if it what I dreamt was true. I'll go back to bed." Alice said and turned around.

"No stay. What happened?" Sebastian yawned and leaned up. Alice hesitated for a brief moment before climbing into Sebastian's bed and sobbing. At first Sebastian was confused and awkwardly held her as she cried into his nightshirt before he really held her and waited patiently for her to stop crying.

"I dreamt of Ragnarok. His plan is to turn your soul pure black so I would never be able to heal you and Ragnarok could have me for himself." Alice cried. Sebastian stiffen and hugged Alice tightly.

"Never in a million years will I listen to that bastard. He's trying to find your weakness, Alice, and I think he just found out what breaks you. You have to stop letting him get into your head or he'll make you go insane and right now we need all the healing you're bringing we can get."

"I don't understand. Why is he only bothering me? Why isn't he bothering everyone else?"

"He already gave me a nightmare once, the night I got here, and now I use magic to block him from entering my dreams. He knows what ties Aaron and I together is you so he'll do everything he can to destroy the ties we share."

"He knows… He knows my weakness and now when you and Aaron battle him he'll try killing you."

"Alice he'll try to kill me even if he didn't know."

The two of them laid there in silence, Alice's thoughts and questions rolling in her brain. The question she never wanted to ask suddenly flew from her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Why hasn't Aaron died yet even though all of us know who I chose?" Alice asked.

"Because I haven't formally asked you to marry me yet. If I did and you said yes then he would die."

"So even if I tell you I love you he wouldn't die?"

"Nope, but from what I see I think Aaron already found someone worth loving."

"You mean Mary Beth?"

"Yep I can see it in his eyes how much he loves her." Sebastian said. Alice looked up at him and noticed his eyes were a bit brighter even if the moon was shining down on them. "Now either go to sleep right here next to me or go back to bed. Hatter doesn't like late sleepers and we still have to find the other two parts to the spell." He grumbled. Alice smiled and kissed him before letting sleep take over once again. Sebastian looked down at her and realized something. Alice really and truly loves him after all.


	14. Ragnarok's Weakness Revealed, Alice!

_Chapter 14_

_Ragnarok's Weakness Revealed, Alice! _

The sun was covered with thick clouds of snow. Overnight the skies sprinkled the area with snow and ice turning it into a glittering Wonderland. Aaron woke up to the sound of ice rain hitting his window with soft thuds. He peered outside and his lips twitched into a smile, he loved the snow more than anything. He got out of bed noticing it wasn't even seven in the morning yet and threw on heavy pants and a wool sweater before grabbing his ice skates and hat. He closed his bedroom door and walked down the hallway peering into Sebastian's bedroom, the door wide open. Both Alice and Sebastian were tucked away sleeping soundly, his arms wrapped around her, protecting her from the beast who tried invading her dreams last night. Aaron quietly shut the door and continued walking down the hallway hearing the snores of Hatter and Godfred even before walking past their doors. When he reached the throne room and threw on his hat and shoved the double doors open before closing them behind him. He looked up and saw the air showing his breath.

"I love winter."

He took off in a run to the pond near the palace that was like he expected frozen over from the dreadful freezing temperatures they survived through last night. He sat on the nearest rock and put on his skates, tying them tightly before taking the ice. He wasn't used to skating since their last winter wasn't very promising and the pond never froze over but he easily glided over the ice, turning and performing tricks like a professional. He never noticed someone was watching him until he slipped and ended up on his back.

"Are you alright?"

"Don't worry about me." Aaron choked out before getting to his knees and looking to see Mary Beth smiling at him from across the pond. "Why are you up so early?"

"I heard the front doors slam and saw you walking to the pond from my window. I didn't know you liked to skate."

"It keeps me from thinking about reality for a few hours."

"Well you're a beautiful skater, I give you that." Aaron picked himself back up and started skating around again staying clear away from the other side which was already starting to crack from his weight.

"Have you ever learned to skate, Mary Beth?"

"No… I was born into a poor family so they could afford school and swordsman classes."

"So you were raised as a warrior huh?"

"To protect Sebastian's family. Just after he was cursed I was taken in as his bodyguard. I was treated as an equal for a long time. After Ragnarok started showing up more and more the Queen changed and started forcing Sebastian to start choosing a wife. You know this might seem weird but… I think she might know Ragnarok's plans."

"As in you think she knows he's bad news and the only way to keep him from the crown is for Sebastian to marry Alice?"

"Well yeah she was already planning the wedding the day after the ball."

"If Sebastian is married… then when the Queen passes the crown to him and he suddenly dies then Alice becomes Queen?"

"Yep which is why Ragnarok is trying to invade her dreams all the time. He's trying to find out her weakness and use it against her."

"Ragnarok is planning on killing her…"

"I think so… and Sebastian too. If he dies the curse breaks and you can't defeat him by yourself. Aaron… I think we need to find the other two parts quickly, the moon will be full in three days."

"I know I know. Sebastian and Alice are in danger though we need to keep them protected too."

Aaron skated off the ice as soon as he saw another crack and sat next to Mary Beth. "You probably already know what I have to do in order to destroy that horse."

"I know, that's why I'm going with you."

"You can't leave them, Mary Beth. You need to stop him while I'm gone. While I take care of that horse you guys need to destroy his power source and that's the hat. Please Mary Beth…"

"I'm not letting you go alone. Curse or not you're tired of being alone so I'm here for you. I'll always be here for you, Aaron." Mary Beth said grabbing his hand. "I love you Aaron." He looked up at her.

"I'm cursed, Mary Beth."

"Sebastian is cursed too and look at him. It's time you look at the big picture instead of the little paint drops, Aaron."

"You don't understand! You just… you're going to die."

"We're all going to die one day. Please Aaron…"

He leaned over and kissed her. At first he thought it was stupid, kissing in the cold but she kissed him back and he was confused. He pulled back.

"Why haven't you left me yet? They all left before I could even kiss them back." Aaron asked. She grabbed his face and pulled him in to kiss her again. "Because the curse is slowly breaking. Both of you found love and received it in return."

From behind them a guard started shouting at them.

"Breakfast!"

Mary Beth kissed him again and the two of them made their way back to the castle hand and hand.

* * *

Sebastian stood in the throne room eyeing Aaron as he passed.

"You have Alice, I can have your bodyguard." Aaron said to him. Sebastian turned and walked into the dining hall where Hatter and Alice were already sitting and talking in low whispers.

"Alright what's going on?" Aaron asked the two of them, taking a seat next to Mary Beth.

"Ragnarok struck again in Wonderland. He destroyed the abandoned castle in the desert. The place he was hiding out when I delivered the hat to him." Hatter said tossing Aaron the paper. "We think the other kingdoms he tried taking over finally caught his scent and they're after him. He's in the crossfire and we need to destroy that horse soon or he'll conjure up another shadow worse than that horse."

"So what we start searching for the second part today? We can't even get past the gates they're frozen shut." Sebastian said.

"Damn blizzard." Hatter muttered.

"I'll go fetch a few fire fairies from the hallow and see if they can unfreeze the gate." Cheshire said and vanished into thin air.

"You know… they say the creator of a powerful weapon knows how to destroy it." Aaron said tossing the paper on the table and looking at Hatter.

"You think I know how to destroy Ragnarok's hat?" Hatter asked.

"Well you did make it so yes I think you know how to."

"Do you, Hatter?" Alice asked. Hatter looked at her sadly and then everyone else.

"Look… It's hard believe me, I put every ounce of my energy I had into that hat. It's better if you find the rest of the spell to send that horse back to where it came from and take him down while he's weak."

"Hatter we need a fall back if anything happens." Mary Beth said.

"The thing that destroys the hat is almost impossible to find!"

"We need to know Hatter!" Sebastian said pounding his fist into the table. Hatter looked out the window and sighed. "You'll be committing murder after you destroy it."

"Why who dies?" Alice asked.

"Nicolas and his wife. Their lives are bind to this book. That book needs to be burned if you want that hat to be useless. Nicolas helped me create it into a magical weapon for Ragnarok by using spells from that book. If you burn that book then Nicolas and his wife will die."

"Why would they die?" Alice asked.

"They're immortal because of it. They've been living for almost seven hundred years using alchemy."

"Didn't you guys ever think Ragnarok was I don't know… EVIL?!" Sebastian screamed.

"Nicolas said those spells would never be able to create so much damage."

"Well that's just great. First we need to find two more parts to this spell and now we have to kill your friends just to destroy a stupid hat!"

"Sebastian calm down…" Alice said.

"WE HAVE TO KILL MORE PEOPLE JUST TO KILL RAGNAROK! No I won't kill any more people."

"Sir… Sir you have a visitor." A small guard said. Hatter turned his chair around and picked up his teacup.

"Well I'll be damned." Hatter said.

"Hello Hatter." The old man said, snow stuck to his beard and robes.

"Hello Nicolas." Hatter said raising his teacup to him and taking a sip of his tea, his lips curving into a smile in the cup.


End file.
